William E. Rattner, age 82, of Evanston, passed away March 16, 2019. Devoted husband of 55 years to Gale (Golovan) Rattner; dear father to David (Mollie Karger) Rattner; loving grandfather to Celia and Elsie Rattner; dear brother to Marian (late Dr. Eugene) Gootnick; dear brother-in-law to Steven (Bo) Golovan; admired cousin to Jonathan (Brenda Marsh) Weiss; proud uncle to Carol Nan (Rick) Cosmer, Susie Guldbeck, and Nancy (Ken) Beigel. Preceded in death by his parents Dr. Herbert and Ethel Rattner. Bill was born September 26, 1936 in Chicago. He was raised in South Shore and graduated from the University of Chicago Lab School and Francis W. Parker. Received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his JD from Harvard Law School. Practiced corporate litigation for 37 years. Upon retirement, Bill served for 14 years as the Executive Director of The Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Law; Columbia College Chicago; and the Graham School of Continuing Studies at the University of Chicago. He served as Chairman of the City of Evanston Board of Ethics; as the President of the Chicago Chapter of the American Jewish Committee; as Trustee of the Evanston Arts Center; and a Board Member of Park National Bank. As a member of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue, he traveled to Israel on a delegation with Cardinal Joseph Bernardin to foster Catholic-Jewish relations. His passions included a love for all music, especially opera; acting in Evanston’s Upstagers theater group; and a fascination with the Arctic including going on two dog sled exhibitions. He was an insatiable learner, a voracious reader, and a perpetual student of history. He had a serious crush on Queen Elizabeth II and amassed a large collection of Royal Family memorabilia. His caustic humor and warm compassion will be deeply missed. Funeral Thursday, March 21 at 11:30am at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette. Interment Westlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Lawyers for the Creative Arts www.law-arts.org/donate.
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