Wilmot Tramel OBITUARY

Wilmot Tramel OBITUARY

Wilmot Harbach Tramel (Bill) of Lincolnshire passed away in the early hours of April 19, 2026. Bill, a long-time resident of Evanston, is preceded in death by his wife Judy (Mikulec), wife Marion (Ball), brother James and parents, Forsyth and Gretchen. Bill is succeeded by Charles Tramel (Carolyn), Janet (Tramel) Eads, Kenneth Tramel (Nora), grandsons Alexander (Katie) and Andrew and multiple nieces and nephews.

Bill, born in Evanston in 1927, attended Evanston Township High School. He spent his early summers in Charlevoix, MI where he developed his love of sailing. Bill enlisted in the Navy at the age of 18 but did not see combat action as the war ended that same year; he then went on to Coe College. After he got married, Marion and Bill remained in Evanston, raising their three children.

Bill was very involved in activities in Evanston, particularly with the McGaw YMCA. He was a long-term member of the Y’s Men Club and had a stint as president of the Board of the McGaw Y. He encouraged his children to get involved in multiple activities at the Y and spent many years driving them to swim practice and swim meets. Bill was Club Counselor of multiple Y clubs over the years, beginning with his brother-in-law’s club and continuing with both of his son’s clubs. One of these was Starr Club and the club team went to the Drake Hotel each year to meet Bart Starr when Green Bay played the Bears.

McGaw YMCA Camp Echo was an incredibly special place to Bill, first taking his young family in the 1960s and returning most summers after that until his last time at the age of 95. He especially enjoyed sailing and visiting the archery range. He enjoyed interacting with the staff and made some good friends there over the years.

Bill was a cat and dog lover, and the family had various pets throughout the years. Much to our amusement, he always got the gender wrong, females were males and males were females.

Bill had friends from elementary-high school that he stayed close to throughout his life. He never treated anyone like a stranger and developed wonderful friendships in all phases of his life. He was good at staying in touch and his chicken scrawl handwriting was immediately identifiable on cards and letters.

A life-long Cubs fan, Bill enjoyed all the Chicago sports teams; one of his highlights was attending game 1 of the 2016 NLCS at the age of 89 and was delighted when they finally won the World Series. His love for the Cubs, Bears and Northwestern Wildcats was passed down to his children and grandchildren who are avid fans to this day.

Bill enjoyed a good joke and even at the end of his life, when vision and hearing were a challenge, he would crack a joke in normal conversation with a cheshire cat smile on his face. The day before his 99th birthday, he informed us he was going to be 110, then 114, his eyes were twinkling and his lips held a sly smile. All his children were there to celebrate that special birthday.

Special feelings of gratitude to Paul, Rotor, Diane, Lila, and the caregivers at Sedgebrook for being a large part of his final years.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the McGaw YMCA Camp Echo, Orphans of the Storm in Riverwoods, IL or Suncrest Hospice Illinois LLC.