Wayne Shrofe

Wayne Frank Shrofe, 76, of Waukegan, a loving and devoted father and an extremely proud grandfather, passed away surrounded by his family on March 17 after a valiant battle with leukemia. Wayne was born November 21,1947 in Berwyn, to Leslie & Vlasta (nee Holecek) Shrofe, joining his older brother Leslie. Wayne graduated from Riverside Brookfield High School in 1965 and served in the US Army as a Communications Specialist during the Vietnam War. He attended Northern Illinois University where he met the love of his life, Patricia Skalla; they married in 1969 at Mother of God Church in Waukegan. They welcomed their son, David, in 1970. Wayne lived in Waukegan for the last 48 years, working at US Steel in Waukegan, as well as a welder at Great Lakes Naval Base and at Abbott Laboratories, retiring in 2000. He converted to Catholicism in 1990 at Queen of Peace Church in North Chicago. Wayne coached youth sports and was an active volunteer at Mother of God School. Wayne was also a 50-year member of Sokol Spirit in Brookfield and a past member of KSKJ St Joseph #53. He loved golfing, fishing, bowling, horse betting with friends, rock & roll music (especially The Rolling Stones) and watching sports including high school sports and college volleyball, but most of all, any of his grandchildren’s sports or activities. He was sharp. He had an extensive vocabulary and was skilled at crossword puzzles, word jumbles and Sudoku. He was very handy, helping family with numerous household projects. Wayne is survived by his son David (Sheila) Shrofe and his grandchildren Caitlin, Julia, and Patrick Shrofe, all of Grayslake. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law Carol Shrofe of Westchester, Mary Jo (Gary) Loizzo of Neenah, WI, and Toni Skalla of Wildwood; his brother-in-law, Don Skalla of Williams Bay, WI; his nephew, Mark (Kim) Shrofe of Westchester and nieces Debbie (Jim) Russel of Homer Glen and Nickie (Josh) Riese of Neenah, WI; his grand-nephews Dean Shrofe and Lincoln Riese; many much-loved extended family members and several cherished friends. He was preceded in death by his father in 1957, his mother in 1959, his father-in-law Edward Skalla in 1980, his brother in 1989, his wife in 1993, his mother-in-law Dorothy Skalla (nee Dow) in 2013, brother-in-law Greg Skalla in 2019 and several dear friends. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11AM on Friday, March 22 at St Gilbert Catholic Church, 301 E Belvidere Rd, Grayslake with burial at Ascension Catholic Cemetery, Libertyville. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 AM at St. Gilbert on Friday, March 22. In lieu of flowers friends & family may make memorial contributions in Wayne’s name to Wounded Warrior Project.
Arrangements are under the direction of Peterson & Patch Funeral Home Waukegan, Illinois. Please sign our guestbook at www.waukeganfunerals.com.