Claude Leonard Kordus

Claude Leonard Kordus was born on March 6, 1930, to Genevieve (née Krenz) and Lawrence Kordus. Claude grew up with his older sister, Bernice, and younger sister, Louise, in the family home in West Allis, Wisconsin. His father was a WWI veteran and a career postman, and both of his parents came from German-speaking families with deep roots in Wisconsin.

Claude attended St. Florian Elementary School and West Allis Central High School. Always a high-achieving student, he graduated at the top of his high school class in 1948, earning multiple awards and honors. He was on the debate team, enjoyed choral singing, served on student committees, and played the violin. He was featured as a violin soloist at the baccalaureate program during his high school commencement week.

Although he received several scholarship offers from universities, including the University of Wisconsin, Claude decided instead to attend Marquette University in Milwaukee without any financial assistance. He worked his way through school, sometimes working nights while taking classes during the day.

Claude made many lifelong friends at Marquette. He had fond memories of school activities and clubs, parties, and excursions with his friends. A favorite memory from that time was buying his first car, a green Hudson Hornet. He drove when double-dating with his buddies and their girlfriends.

He also travelled by train to New York for the first time while in college to visit a friend who was from Brooklyn, and they saw original productions of Oklahoma! and Death of a Salesman. He even saw Joe DiMaggio play at Yankee Stadium.

Claude earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major in English and Communications. After finishing as an undergraduate, he went on to earn his master’s and law degrees from Marquette. While in graduate school, he also taught an undergraduate class, and he was always proud of “getting his money’s worth” from Marquette.

Claude’s early law career included working for the government as well as in-house counsel positions at both the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee and a small consulting firm in Indianapolis. In 1958, Claude began dating Roberta (“Bobbie”) Hilkert, a Marquette alumna, who was four years younger than Claude and knew him through their many mutual friends. Claude and Bobbie married on June 17,

1961, at St. Mary Parish in Evanston, Illinois, where Bobbie’s parents lived. The new couple briefly lived in Indianapolis, but they moved back to Illinois a year later in 1962 when Claude joined Hewitt Associates, having been introduced by a friend to Ted Hewitt. Claude and Bobbie’s first child, Margaret, was born in 1962. Their son, James, was born in 1965. They welcomed another daughter, Sarah, in 1973.

Upon joining Hewitt, Claude transitioned from the law to management consulting. He first worked out of the headquarters in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Within a few years, he was transferred to manage the Milwaukee office.

Claude and Bobbie settled the family in Mequon, a suburb of Milwaukee, where they made more lifelong friends from their neighborhood and parish. During those years in Mequon, they regularly took their young family to Florida, including fun trips to their condo on Sanibel Island.

In 1977, Claude was transferred to Orange County, California, to manage Hewitt’s western region, with hundreds of employees in locations including Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Claude and Bobbie moved the family to Tustin Hills. Although they missed their Mequon community, they quickly grew a large community of friends from their parish, their neighbors, the parents of their children’s friends, and the growing Hewitt group in Orange County. Close friends and relatives from Wisconsin and other parts of the country were frequent guests at the Kordus home. Claude and Bobbie also remodeled a second home in Lake Arrowhead, California, where the family frequently spent time and hosted friends and relatives for more than 20 years.

Those were busy years, and Claude worked long hours at the office while also travelling several days most weeks to meet with clients and visit Hewitt offices. Claude and Bobbie also loved to travel for pleasure, using all the frequent flier miles he accumulated. They visited much of the U.S., including Alaska and numerous trips to Hawaii, and enjoyed touring internationally, especially cruising. Over the years they visited Canada, Europe, Bermuda, the Caribbean, South America, Egypt, the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, Russia, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. They also planned many memorable family vacations, ranging from weekend getaways to more elaborate trips such as a month in England and Wales, a driving trip throughout Germany and Austria, a two-week tour of Italy, and a cruise to Alaska for their 40th wedding anniversary.

In 1984, Claude and Bobbie bought a timeshare at a property overlooking the ocean in Del Mar, California. The family enjoyed yearly summer visits, spending time at the beach and at the historic Del Mar Race Track, and they still gather in Del Mar every summer. Claude and Bobbie also spent two weeks every year in late winter at their resort timeshare in Palm Desert, California. The family joined them to enjoy the desert climate and resort activities.

The arts and the theatre were important to Claude and Bobbie, and they especially enjoyed seeing musicals in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Orange County. They also took the family to other cultural events, including trips to museums and special art exhibits.

During Claude’s tenure at Hewitt Associates, he was a Principal Partner, a member of the Executive Committee, and the Western Region Manager. When he joined the firm in 1962, Hewitt had approximately 35 employees. Upon his retirement, Hewitt had more than 10,000 employees worldwide.

After 25 years in Tustin Hills, Claude and Bobbie moved to Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County. During those first years in Rancho Santa Fe, Claude stayed busy, even in “retirement.” He was involved with parish life (including singing in the choir), he had business and charitable pursuits, he supported and attended cultural events throughout San Diego County, and he continued to travel with Bobbie. When Bobbie passed in March 2017, they had been married for 55 years and were a few months away from their 56th anniversary.

Claude was an incredibly proud grandfather to Matthew (born to Margaret in 1997) and Eliza (born to Sarah in 2006). He loved to brag about his grandchildren, who brought him immense joy.

Claude had a tremendous impact on his family and friends, and although the last five years of his life were marked by increasing health challenges, he portrayed positivity to friends and colleagues. He never lost sight of the care and love from his children and grandchildren, his memories of Bobbie, his lifelong friendships, his successful career at Hewitt Associates, his enjoyment of reading and watching classic movies, and his passion for Green Bay Packers football and Marquette basketball. Claude faithfully watched every Marquette basketball game available on television. The day before he passed, he was mulling over Marquette’s chances to make the NCAA tournament. He was also joking with his family and caregivers and reminiscing about the wonderful trips he took with both Bobbie and the entire family, especially remembering England—a favorite destination because of his love of British literature.

Claude passed peacefully on February 27, 2022, with his family at his side. He was one week shy of his 92nd birthday.

The memorial, service, and burial will be private family gatherings. Written condolences may be sent to P.O. Box 7234, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067.

In lieu of flowers, and to support medical resources and research in areas that directly affected Claude and his family caring for him, donations may be made to the following: The Dementia Society of America at dementiasociety.org

The American Heart Association at heart.org