Although he had a successful career in business, Bertil E. Landstrom was most proud of his family. For many years, he helped organize large reunions, bringing together family members from across the country. “His family was extremely important to him, and he devoted himself to us,” said his son, John. Mr. Landstrom, 83, of Wheaton, a former chief financial officer for Sunbeam Corp., died of complications from a recent fall Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Fairview Baptist Home in Downers Grove. Born and raised on his family’s farm in Ceresco, Neb., Mr. Landstrom was the son of Swedish immigrants. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska, where he became a lifelong Cornhusker fan. Mr. Landstrom served in World War II in the European theater as a B-17 pilot in the Army Air Corps’ 463rd Bomb Group. After the war, he took graduate business courses at Northwestern University, where he met his wife, Shirley. In the late 1940s, he began working for a Chicago public accounting firm and joined Sunbeam Corp. in 1949. He worked for many years as the company’s treasurer before being named chief financial officer in the late 1970s. He retired from Sunbeam in 1983 after 34 years of working for the company. A Wheaton resident since 1952, Mr. Landstrom was a 50-year member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wheaton, where he helped in many capacities, including as treasurer. He also was a member of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and took classes at College of DuPage. Other survivors include three sons, Barry, Brian and Eric; two daughters, JoAnn Pelikan and Beth Trojan; a brother, James; two sisters, Evangeline Kalkwarf and Charlotte Richard; and eight grandchildren. Services have been held.
