Robert Schnulle, of Countryside, formerly of Cicero, passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 30 at the home that he shared with his wife Alvanell. He was two months short of his 87th birthday at the time of his passing and in spite of declining health, his family felt blessed that he could remain in the home he loved due entirely to his wife’s loving care. Bob was the youngest child of Olga Jesse Schnulle and Ernest Schnulle, who immigrated from Germany at the turn of the century. Bob grew up in Cicero along with his siblings George, Henry, Hazel and Ernest, where the extended family remained for many years. As a young man, Bob accepted a position with IL Bell Telephone Co., and rose from a lineman position (climbing poles and stringing cable), all the way to District Engineering Manager for the south division of Chicago, ending his career in 1982 after 36 years of service. During his retirement, one of his favorite activities was the weekly lunches with the “Mippers”, the men who took the Management Incentive Plan and retired at the same time as he did. Bob was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, serving the 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and went on to serve in the IL National Guard, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. One of the great joys of his life was the bi-annual reunion meeting which the 275th began in 1984 and still continue. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Alvanell, nee Riddle, who left her family in Texas to marry her sweetheart at the end of WWII; his children, Alan Schnulle (Heidi Novack) and Betty Henry (Jim), who still make their homes in the Chicago area, and his daughter Linda Dillon Jones (Kit) who resides in Columbia, Maryland. Nell and Bob have seven stepgrandchildren, Clay, Ted and Michael Morse, Vanesa and Devon Jones and Dan and Kara Henry. Alan’s daughter, Alex, is now a senior at Downers Grove South High School. Visitation 3 to 9 p.m. Monday at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th Street, Countryside. Funeral service 11 a.m. Tuesday at Warren Park Presbyterian Church, 6130 West 21st Street in Cicero, where Bob and Nell were members for 59 years. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery. Funeral info: 708-352-6500.
