Kollman, Robert Samuel

Robert S. Kollman, 94, of Vernon Hills, died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, surrounded by his family. Bob grew up in Chicago where he graduated from Purdue University and Senn High School. He spent the majority of his chemical engineering career with Abbott Laboratories and was an active member of the North Shore Unitarian Church. Gifted with a free and progressive spirit, Bob chaired the Church Social Action, Food Bank, and Environmental committees from the 1960s through the early 2000s. In 1963, he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C. The family moved to Highland Park (IL) in 1958. Bob was the chairman of the Highland Park Fair Housing Commission in the mid-1960s and was instrumental in helping pass the first open housing ordinance in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

Throughout his life, he supported many activist and civic groups, always fighting for those who were oppressed, less fortunate, or treated unfairly. He loved his family, jazz, movies, art, and the Chicago White Sox. He was a great humanitarian, father, grandfather, and friend to many. He is survived by his son, Michael (Robin) Kollman, and daughter, Barbara Kem (Steve) Roach, six grandchildren, Nicholi Roach, Tyler Kem, Kristen Kollman, Leah (Byron) Slaybaugh, Dillon Kem, and Max Kollman, and dear friend Sheila Clements. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Emily Kollman, sister, Joan Stern Festenstein, and wives, Olga Kowell Kollman and Joanne Viola Scott. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions are made to the North Shore Unitarian Church, Greenpeace or the ACLU. A Celebration of Life will be held in early 2023.

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