Edwin L. Schaper’s motto of high integrity has been credited as one of the founding blocks that led to the success of Weber barbecue grills.
Mr. Schaper, 83, the former vice president of sales at Weber-Stephen Products Co. in Palatine, died Monday in Friendship Village, Schaumburg.
Born in Elmhurst, Mr. Schaper was a World War II Navy veteran. In the early 1950s, he was running a printing company and sought the business of Weber-Stephen Products, then in Wood Dale. George Stephen Sr., who ran the small shop that first made the spherical Weber grills, hired Mr. Schaper on the spot as sales manager.
“Ed had almost no sales experience when he came on board, but he did an excellent job and shepherded the growth of Weber through that time,” said Jim Stephen, president of Weber-Stephen Products and son of the firm’s original owner.
Long after Mr. Schaper retired in the 1970s, his motto for business practices remained at the forefront of the company.
“Ed had in many ways the highest of integrity,” Stephen said. “He believed that a man was his work, and you must do business with high integrity. That stuck to this day.”
When he was not playing competitive golf, Mr. Schaper kept in touch with company officials, swapping stories of the past, Stephen said. .
Mr. Schaper is survived by his wife, Helen; a son, Timothy; two daughters, Judith Webster and Deanna Cowden; 12 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday until services at 11 a.m. in Geils Funeral Home, 180 S. York Rd., Bensenville.
