Charles “Chuck” Pfau, Jr. passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 24 at Presence Mercy Hospital, Aurora IL.
Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 11:00 am, at Ottawa Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 9:00am until the time of service at the funeral home on Saturday. Burial will follow in St. Columba Cemetery.
Chuck was born July 23, 1949, St. Mary’s Hospital, Streator, IL, the first son of Charles H. Pfau, Sr. and S. Maxine Balke and raised on the family farm in LaSalle Co.
Chuck graduated from Ottawa High School in 1967, was a member of the basketball team and 1966 Hall of Fame football team and received the Rick Worden Award for Academics. He also represented Ottawa High School at Boys State.
Chuck graduated from Columbia University in New York City with a degree in Economics. While in college, he played Ivy League baseball, football and rugby. Chuck continued to play rugby after leaving New York with the Chicago Lions Rugby Club for 13 years. He later refereed rugby for the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union Referee Society for 10 years and remained an avid rugby fan throughout his life.
After college, Chuck developed a rooftop garden in Manhattan. After moving back to Illinois he worked in commercial landscaping, public gardens in Park Ridge and residential gardens in Chicago and northern suburbs. His professional career lasted some 40 years.
Gardens, rugby and travel were the passions of his adult life. Chuck traveled often to exotic destinations to pursue these passions. He traveled to Europe, Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as destinations throughout the U.S.
His memberships include the Farm Bureau, Midwest Institute of Park Executives, New York Horticultural Society and Men’s Garden Club of New York City. Chuck was the sub-commander of the Ottawa High School Cadet Corps and a noncommissioned officer of the 7th Regiment New York Army National Guard. He received honorary awards including the Lowry Lion Award for service to the Chicago Lions Rugby Club, a plaque for his contributions to the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union Referee Society and was a selection to the 1983 U.S. National Rugby Owls rugby tour to Australia.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles H. Pfau, Sr. and S. Maxine (Balke) Pfau. Survivors are sisters Barbara (Bill) Johnson, Marietta, GA., and Alice (Bill) Pfau-Pakenham, Earlville, and brothers Donald Pfau, Olympia Fields, Edward (Teri) Pfau, Fishers, IN. and William (Patty) Pfau, Leland. Nephews and nieces are Wade Johnson and Brynne (Matt) Gowens, Matthew and Christine Pfau, Brian and Austin Pfau and grandnephew Tucker Gowens.
Special recognition goes to Don Pfau for numerous rides to medical appointments and family functions and Kerry Novak, David Hall, and Julie Ohmahan for their friendship and visits during his illness and recovery.
Chuck enjoyed family reunions and family holiday gatherings and most of all a large 40th birthday party on the family farm in Hinckley.
You could always find Chuck celebrating rural life with a barbecued pork chop while attending the Sandwich Fair or enjoying nature when paddling the lower Fox River by canoe.
Chuck enjoyed the fragrance of freshly tilled dormant farmland topsoil every April. The fragrance spoke of a new season, a new crop and the renewal of life itself.
At the request of the family, memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association.
The online guest book may be viewed and remembrances shared at www.ottawafuneralhome.com
Ottawa Funeral Home & Crematory
1111 LaSalle St, Ottawa Illinois 61350
815-433-0300
www.ottawafuneralhome.com