Mathilda Rechberger, 97, of Whitewater, Wis., a former Mt. Prospect resident, was the retired part owner of Fred’s Place, a German restaurant in Mt. Prospect. She died of heart failure Saturday, June 1, in Hearthstone Health Center in Whitewater. Mrs. Rechberger and her family emigrated from Germany to the U.S. when she was 8. While growing up in Niles Center, she worked on the family vegetable farm. She met her husband, Fred, after stopping at his restaurant, Fred’s Place on Rand Road, one day with friends. They married in 1935 and Mrs. Rechberger became the cook at the restaurant. In 1957 they retired and sold the now-shuttered restaurant. “She just loved to make people laugh. She enjoyed a good joke,” said her daughter, Virginia Hammerl. Mrs. Rechberger is also survived by two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, when a service will begin in Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights.
