William E. Rietz, a former chemist and vice president at Misco International Inc. in Wheeling, fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and was known among friends for his sense of humor and ability to “brighten things up” with a joke or story, said his son, Mac. Mr. Rietz, 81, of Palatine died of pancreatic cancer Sunday, Dec. 14, in Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, his son said. Mr. Rietz was born in Kankakee and later moved with his family to nearby Watseka, where he finished high school. He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville and later transferred to DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. There, he met his wife of 53 years, Marjorie. He served three years in the Army and spent a month in a hospital in France after being wounded by shrapnel from a grenade. He earned a Purple Heart. Mr. Rietz began his career as a chemist with General Mills Inc. in Kankakee and later became a plant manager at Simoniz Co., a maker of car-care products, in Kankakee. He moved to Palatine in 1967 for a job with a Franklin Park company that made chemical cleaning products and eventually worked his way to a position as a vice president at Misco before retiring in the late 1980s. He enjoyed talking on a citizens-band radio in his car and developed a group of friends who would gather for weekly visits. A lifelong fisherman, he enjoyed trips with his family to remote parts of Canada. He was an attentive man who “never missed a birthday or an important date,” his son said. Besides his son, other survivors include three grandchildren. Visitation will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday followed by a service at noon in Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway, Palatine.
