When William Vallera first wandered into the hide-tanning business at age 17, he was just looking for a paycheck to help his family through tough financial times.
But something in the science of preparing animal skins to become leather took hold of Mr. Vallera, and the job turned into a 46-year career at Swift and Co., a major Chicago meatpacker.
Mr. Vallera, 85, who went from laborer to manager of the company’s tanning operations in more than 50 factories across North America, died of cancer Friday, June 14, in his home in Alsip.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Vallera moved to Oak Lawn when he was 3. He attended Calumet High School for two years, then dropped out to work at Swift.
In the late 1930s, Mr. Vallera met Carmela Stramaglia who lived nearby in Evergreen Park. The two began dating and were married in 1940.
He served in the Navy in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1945, said his daughter Mary Bay.
When he returned home, he began a steady climb through the ranks at Swift, a meatpacker that also prepared the hides of its livestock for use as leather and sold them to tanneries.
Mr. Vallera worked as a bookkeeper, foreman and eventually general superintendent responsible for all of Swift’s tanning operations in the United States and Canada.
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Vallera moved to Alsip. He retired in 1980. His wife died of cancer in 1995.
Survivors include another daughter, Deanna Utterback; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in Schmaedeke Funeral Home, 10701 S. Harlem Ave., Worth. A funeral mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Incarnation Church, 5757 W. 127th St., Palos Heights.
