Warren "Butch" E. Zentz

Services will be held at Chapel Hill Gardens West Funeral Home, 17W201 E Roosevelt Rd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Visitation will be Thursday, October 10th from 4-8pm, with a funeral service on Friday, October 11th at 10:30am.

Warren, also known as Butch to family members and close friends, was born on October 27, 1940, to Vernon and Mary (Fluks) Zentz. He graduated from Proviso High School in Maywood in 1958 and later attended Roosevelt University in Chicago.

On February 17, 1962, he married Virginia Gorka in Bellwood. They had 44 wonderful years together while living in the Bellwood and Lombard areas before she passed away in 2006.

On August 16, 2008, he married Carol Hostetler in Lombard. They enjoyed 16 years together while living in Winfield, West Chicago and Itasca.

Butch worked for several years during the 1960s at the Naval ordnance plant in Forest Park, where torpedoes were built. In the late 1960s, he was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration as an electronic technician, and he worked in the Control Tower at O'Hare Airport for about 15 years. During the early 1980s, he became a regional vice president with the Professional Airway Systems Specialists, the union representing these technicians. He worked as a union official for more than 10 years, traveling all over the country while meeting prominent politicians in his line of work, eventually retiring in the mid-1990s before a stint as a computer consultant.

Even though Butch did not have a college degree, he had as much knowledge as many university graduates, maybe more. He was extremely smart about a variety of topics and he could repair anything: Cars, TVs, computers, appliances. You name it, he could fix it. There came a period of time in the mid-1970s when many people in his neighborhood were recipients of his generosity in fixing their vehicles or other items for no charge. He was a very good man.

He was a lot more than just a mechanic, though. He was an excellent father. He set aside huge amounts of time to help coach his children's sports teams. He must have hit thousands of ground balls and fly balls to youngsters through the years. He did all this even when his job at the airport required challenging amounts of shift work. It was not unusual at all for him to work a 12-hour shift overnight and then come home and take one of his kids to a sports practice, while helping to coach the team. Sometimes he would even stay after the practice was over and help kids on the team who were struggling with a certain aspect of the game, such as hitting or fielding.

Likewise, he and Virginia (and later Carol) would find time to take family members on lengthy trips that included fishing, golf and other activities. He greatly enjoyed these times, although not every fishing excursion was a huge success. Let's put it this way: Not every fish that nibbled ended up being reeled in.

During his free time, he also enjoyed visiting with his grandchildren, step-grandchildren and other family members. He was known for his generosity in giving money to the youngsters during family visits. Other pleasures included Scotch whisky (Dewar’s on the rocks was a fave) and, for the most part, following the Chicago White Sox. Just a week before he passed way, he really enjoyed himself while being in attendance with his daughter for the final White Sox home game of this season, and, incredibly, the Sox had their best game of the year while winning by seven runs.

Survivors include his wife, Carol, of Itasca; his son, Warren (Barbara) Zentz Jr., of Dubuque, IA; his daughter, Katherine (Robert Bafundo) Zentz, of Lombard; his granddaughters, Katina (fiance Austin Thiltgen) Zentz, of Germantown, MD, and Payton (Josiah) Riley, of Dubuque, IA; his great-grandson, James Riley; his step-sons, Jon (Jeanne) Hostetler, of Lombard and Michael (Karen) Hostetler, of Hanover Park; his step-grandchildren, Marcus (Kristiana) Hostetler, of Lemont, Claire Hostetler, of Forest Park, Anna Hostetler, of Peabody, MA, Alex Hostetler, of Kansas City, MO, Bradley Hostetler, of Hanover Park, Julia Hostetler, of Hanover Park; his sister, Sue (Robert) Rockouski, of Darien; and his sister-in-law, Marianne Antkowiak, of Addison.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon and Mary; his first wife, Virginia; his sister, Arlene Zito; and his brothers-in-law, Roger Gorka, Gerald Zito and George Antkowiak.