John A. Wojtal, 66, of Lake in the Hills, a former resident of Wheeling and a retired bus driver for North Shore School District 112, died of complications from gall bladder surgery Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Born in Chicago, Mr. Wojtal worked more than 20 years in the auto parts supply industry in Chicago before taking a job as a custodian and bus driver at Red Oak Elementary School in Highland Park in the early 1980s. He left in 1992 because of health problems. “He was a kind man who would do anything for you,” said his wife, Lavone. “He had a big heart.” She said her husband also enjoyed working with children. Other survivors include a son, Michael; a daughter, Mary Ellen Herdener; a stepson, Jim Leeper; stepdaughters Carol Leeper and Theresa Milz; a brother, Donald; six grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. A mass will be said at 11 a.m. Friday in St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 111 S. Hubbard St., Algonquin.
