Sawle, III, William Stephen ‘Steve’

William Stephen Sawle, III, 97, of Lake Forest, IL passed away on May 17, 2022. He was born in Chicago, IL on December 19, 1924, to William Stephen and Ruth Rhea (nee Rockcastle) Sawle, Jr. Steve was a kind and generous man with a great sense of humor and was a friend to all he met. Steve graduated from New Trier High School in 1943. Immediately after graduation, he served in the US Navy during WWII from 1943-46. While on small craft stationed at Pearl Harbor and servicing the South Pacific Islands, he

earned the rank of Quartermaster: Petty officer 2nd Class. Upon returning to Chicago, he attended Northwestern University and played four years of Big 10 football for the Wildcats. He was most proud of helping to lead NU to a victorious 1949 Rose Bowl game as an offensive and defensive right tackle, and as the captain-elect for the 1949 team. He met the girl of his dreams (Audrey Joan Little) while attending NU, and they married after graduating in 1950. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, he went to work and became president of Rhopac, Inc., a manufacturing company in Skokie, IL, successfully running the business for 35 years. Having deep family roots in Wisconsin, he purchased and maintained, until his advanced age, a farm in Arena, Wisconsin just west of Madison. He dedicated 350 acres of the land to the Wisconsin River Valley Scenic Easement program forever preserving this land in its agricultural state, as well as permitting UW and the DNR to study the biodiversity on the property. He donated Cedar Island (a naturally wooded island in the Wisconsin River) to the WI State Department of Resources.

Steve is survived by his two loving children W. Stephen Sawle and Darcy Lynn (David) Sperzel; his loving grandchildren Lilly Sawle, Carissa (Pete) Brandes, William Stephen Sawle (now the seventh WSS in succession), and Kevin C. Sperzel; his newborn great-grandson Jack Brandes; and many

cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Audrey (2002); his sister and brother-in-law Ann (Stan) Robinson and his parents. A Celebration of Life will be held on May 27, 2022 at 11:00 am, at The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 N. Sheridan Road, LF. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to honor William Stephen Sawle, III can be made to Northwestern University, Sawle Scholarship Funds, 1201 Davis St., Evanston, IL 60208.

For further info: Wenban Funeral Home or www.wenbanfh.com