Stephen M. Lillis Sr., 87, died Tuesday of kidney failure in his River Forest home. A man who believed in taking pride in his work, Mr. Lillis spent 42 years with Victor Products in Chicago, rising through the ranks at the auto parts company to become its vice president of engineering.
A Chicago native, Mr. Lillis earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology before attending Northwestern University for his master’s degree in the field. His scholastic achievements paid off with his job at Victor, where, according to his daughter Mary Jo Johnson, he played a part in the making of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
“He was already working at Victor during World War II but he decided to enlist in the Navy as an officer,” said Johnson. “Victor said they needed him there in the war effort because they had a contract with the Manhattan Project, and he found out later that their gaskets and oil seals were used in the atom bomb.”
Mr. Lillis also took pride in the fact that Victor’s gaskets and oil seals were used in cars from Ford and GM, and enjoyed pointing out cars on the highway that had the company’s products.
Other survivors include his wife, Dorothy; two sons, John and Stephen Jr.; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation will be Friday from 3 to 9 p.m. in Drechsler-Brown Funeral Home, 203 S. Marion St., Oak Park. Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in St. Vincent Ferrer Church, 1527 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.
