A 71-year-old Wilmette man, described as meticulous in maintaining the “dream house” he built for his wife three decades ago, was killed when he apparently fell from a ladder while trying to remove snow on the roof of his garage, police said Wednesday.
Robert Sadacca, a retired owner of a currency exchange business, died Tuesday in Evanston Hospital of head injuries from the accident, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
“His house was very important to him, that it looked nice,” said neighbor Sharon Meyer of the 100 block of Carriage Way. “In the summer you would always see him out watering his lawn. He had his driveway blacktopped on schedule. It was immaculate.”
Family members said they weren’t surprised to learn Sadacca was trying to prevent problems from the accumulated snow. He never stopped his vigilant care of the house, though he lived there alone since his wife died in 1993, they said.
Someone called police late Tuesday afternoon after finding Sadacca lying in his driveway near a shovel and wooden ladder, said Wilmette Police Officer Dan Huck.
“They’re assuming he was attempting to get snow off the roof,” Huck said. “There have been a lot of people concerned about the amount of snow. Everyone’s talking about the damage it can do to a roof.”
Huck recommended that homeowners call a professional before venturing onto an icy roof or buy rakelike equipment that may be used from the ground.
Many homeowners are concerned about leaks that occur inside the house after ice dams form on the roof. The dams form when warmth from inside the home melts the bottom layer of snow on the roof, sending water trickling to the roof’s edge. When the water refreezes, it blocks additional water from escaping as more snow melts and begins seeping through the shingles and back into the home.
“It was very ironic,” Meyer said of Sadacca’s attempts to prevent such a situation. “He was always alert to what was going on. If we didn’t have our cul-de-sac plowed, he would call the city. He very much cared about what was going on. It’s very sad.”
Sadacca’s daughter Debra Maltzman said her father bought land in Wilmette more than 30 years ago, selling all but one parcel where he built his brick, multistory house.
“He wasn’t an architect, but he drew the house,” Maltzman said. “He built that house for my mom. That was her dream house. He never made a promise he couldn’t keep.”
His other daughter, Lori Sadacca, said: “One of the things my dad always said was the most important goal in your life is to be a good husband and good father. That was above money and everything else.”
Sadacca also is survived by a grandson.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in Jewish Waldheim Cemetery, Gate No. 9, Forest Park.
