Gottfried "Goff" Lorenzen, age 68. Beloved husband of Regina "Jeannie" (nee Weizeorick). Loving dad of Kurt (Amanda) and Rebecca (Geoff) Mickells. Proud GoGo of Gwen, Lucas, and Henry. Cherished son of Margarete and the late Kurt; son-in-law of Jack (Liz) and the late Clare. Dear brother of the late Gerda McCurray; brother-in-law of Debbie (the late Paul) Pallardy, John (Gayle) Weizeorick, Tom (Jeanne) Weizeorick, Teresa Jensen, Sharon Honeysett, Larry (Laura) Weizeorick, Greg (Meg) Weizeorick, Richard (Audra) Weizeorick, Catherine (Chris) Cremer, Joanne (Travis) Haldeman, and Philip (Mel) Weizeorick. Fond uncle to many nieces and nephews.
Gottfried was born Boschidar Gottfried Lorenzen on March 13, 1950 in Yugoslavia. His mom later claimed that she never intended that name, which was picked directly after his birth by another family member. His mom wanted him named Gottfried Boschidar Lorenzen, which was how he was referred to all his life. Goff later changed his name legally, always hating the name Boschidar. In fact, most people didn’t even know his name was anything other than Gottfried.
> Gottfried moved to the United States in 1956, travelling on the Home Lines M.S. Italia. Upon entering school, Gottfried learned that lederhosen was not a popular clothing item in post WWII America. After being teased, he sat on the cement and wore holes in the bottom of the lederhosen, forcing his parents to buy American style pants for him. Gottfried continued through school, graduating from Harper High School in West Englewood in 1968.
> Shortly after high school, Gottfried volunteered for the army, serving our country from June 1969 to January 1972. He was sent to Vietnam, where he managed the supply room, assisted on helicopter repairs, and served as a gunner on a helicopter. One of the few stories that Goff used to tell about his time in Vietnam happened one day after he took a shower in the barracks. He reached for his towel, which was on a hook by the shower, and wrapped it around his waist. He very quickly realized something was wrong as hundreds of fire ants, that had previously been on his towel, began biting him in every region covered by the towel. He had to be choppered to a medical ship that was positioned off the coast of Vietnam. He took considerable time to recover from the injuries to his sensitive areas and always swore that he was allergic to ants. That allergy was never confirmed or denied.
> Upon his return to the States, Gottfried trained to be a plastic injection mold maker, which remained his career during his working years. He did take a couple classes at College of DuPage and met his wife Jeannie while he was working in the VA office on campus. Jeannie was working in Admissions. The couple married on March 11, 1978 and had two children together, Kurt in 1981 and Rebecca in 1982.
> Gottfried and Jeannie started raising their family in a small house in Bolingbrook, but eventually moved to a larger house in Lisle, startlingly close to Jeannie’s parents, just two doors away in fact. Most of those years were happy, but the undiagnosed PTSD from Vietnam, Gottfried’s dad’s death in 1993, and his sister’s death in 2001 led Gottfried to turn increasingly to alcohol. Faced with his own imminent death from alcohol toxicity and liver failure from his alcohol abuse, Gottfried chose life and entered rehab in May of 2001. Those closest to Goff have always considered the years of his sobriety his gift to them. It was Goff’s second life and his very best self that suffered through withdrawal and came back a staunch member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Goff was able to enjoy the weddings of Rebecca to Geoff Mickells in 2015 and Kurt to Amanda Garcia in 2017. He also immensely enjoyed his grandchildren Gwen and Lucas. He surely was present at the birth of his newest grandson Henry, who arrived just two hours after Goff’s death.
A Memorial Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2019 from 3-8pm with a Chapel Service at 7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of your choice would be appreciated. For more info call 630-964-9392.
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