Nov. 16--John H. Wredling was a longtime Kane County educator who capped his career by serving as superintendent of St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 for 14 years.
More than 20 years after Wredling retired, district officials honored him by naming a middle school after him in 1995. In his 80s and 90s, Wredling would come to Wredling Middle School on the first day of school each year to greet students.
"John helped raise the district to new heights," said Don Schlomann, District 303's superintendent. "It really is the legacy of the man."
Wredling, 101, died of natural causes on Oct. 3 at his home, said his daughter, Kristi. He had been a longtime resident of St. Charles.
Born and raised in Aurora, John Hugo Wredling graduated from West Aurora High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1937 from Aurora University, where he was the freshman class president and played football and basketball. He then taught for three years at Lincoln Elementary School in Aurora before moving to West Virginia to work for the Boy Scouts of America. He spent three years in the Army during World War II, serving in England in the Army Air Forces, his daughter said.
In 1946, Wredling returned to Aurora to work for a Boy Scouts council. He then was the assistant superintendent in West Aurora High School District 129 from 1950 until 1958, when he left to become District 303's superintendent.
St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina, a retired St. Charles High School teacher, recalled interviewing for a teaching job with Wredling in the early 1970s, shortly before Wredling retired.
"He was a very visible man in the community, particularly in the educational circles, and he was in the schools quite a bit. The kids loved him," Rogina said. "He also had a major presence here in the veterans community, with respect to his presence in all the parades and all the veterans' ceremonies. He was just a good man and a good role model."
Wredling was District 303's superintendent during a time of significant growth in the St. Charles area, and he oversaw the construction of several school buildings and the remodeling of several others.
Wredling retired from the district in 1972 to care for his ailing wife, Gladys. She died in 1976 after 34 years of marriage. After retiring, he also worked for many years as an interim superintendent in small northern Illinois districts, including Riley Community Consolidated School District 18 in Marengo.
In 1995, District 303 officials decided to give the name Wredling Middle School to a newly built school on Red Gate Road in St. Charles.
"He was very, very proud," Kristi Wredling said. "When they decided to do that, he was ecstatic. He couldn't believe it."
District 303 later converted the Red Gate Road location into a high school and moved Wredling Middle School to a new building on Dunham Road. Wredling remained involved at his namesake, showing up on the first day of school each year to greet students and also attending annual assemblies on his birthday.
Last year, Wredling was in attendance at the school as students and staff members celebrated his 100th birthday. He remained active in community groups past the century mark, serving as the grand marshal of the annual St. Charles St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2014 and routinely marching in the city's Christmas parade. He also was involved in local chapters of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Rotary Club and the Boy Scouts.
In 1997, the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce gave Wredling its Charlemagne Award for his volunteer efforts.
In addition to his daughter, Wredling is survived by two sons, John and Peter; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
