William Waite would never describe himself as a brilliant man. But the former executive vice president for Transco Inc., who helped expand the insulation business into a nationwide venture, was driven to succeed beyond the expectations of those who knew him only as a poor coal miner’s son.
“He didn’t want to be poor. He wanted to be something,” his son William said.
That drive sustained him throughout the almost 40 years he worked with the Chicago company. His knowledge and work led to patents for the first insulation of municipal water towers, and he helped develop an all-metal insulation process for nuclear power plants.
Mr. Waite, 88, of Elmhurst died of natural causes Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Pavilion of Forest Park.
Mr. Waite was born to Lithuanian immigrant parents in West Frankfort in southern Illinois. His youth forged his future, his son said.
“He knew he was going to be an engineer when he was 10. He was very logical, but his intestinal fortitude propelled him. He had real drive. He wanted to conquer the world,” his son William said. The family moved to Chicago when he was in his teens. After he graduated from high school, he worked in the family’s tavern while attending the Illinois Institute of Technology.
After he received a degree in chemical engineering and became a professional registered engineer, he went to work for several companies. One sent him to New York State, where he met his future wife, Dorreen.
At the outbreak of World War II, Mr. Waite was told by recruiters his expertise was needed on the home front. But he enlisted in the Navy anyway in 1943, after hearing continual news reports about the war. The lieutenant worked on triggers for bombs and eventually oversaw a large ordnance-storage facility in Nevada.
Upon his return to Chicago, he invited Dorreen to visit and the couple eventually married in 1947. They lived in Chicago and moved to Elmhurst in 1952.
He joined Transco as a chemical engineer and gradually worked his way up the corporate ladder. In 1968 he became executive vice president, when the company was reorganized.
“The company began doing the insulation for an increased number of power plants, breweries and refineries. Some of these jobs were literally a million square feet of insulation,” his son William said.
His vast knowledge of the industry and engineering was evident whenever the company ventured into a new state. As a requirement for a license, a representative from the company had to take a test. Mr. Waite took more than 15 of them and never failed one.
“He lived the American dream of working hard and succeeding,” his son Bruce said. “He was also fun with a great sense of humor that was extremely clever.”
Mr. Waite retired at age 70.
“And he did it kicking and screaming,” his son Bruce quipped.
Rev. Ernst Huntzinger, minister emeritus of First Congregational Church of Elmhurst, is a family friend and ministered to Mr. Waite, who was a member of the church for more than 40 years.
In addition to his sons and wife, he is survived by a daughter, Judy Waite.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the First Congregational Church of Elmhurst, 235 S. Kenilworth Ave.
