Obituaries

Though he took the world seriously, along with his role and responsibilities in it, Bob Schless had an indefatigable funny bone. When his beloved wife Mary Jean once asked, “Are you going to listen to me or are you going to be an ass?” Bob deadpanned, “I think I can do both.” The ability to find humor everywhere was Bob’s gift. He cherished a good joke, story, cartoon or punchline.This joy, delight and love of laughter, as well as an enormous generosity, guided him through 92 years of a life that ended peacefully at home on Tuesday, September 2.

Robert McLouth Schless was born to J.T. “Jack” and Dorothy Schless on January 2, 1933. The family, including two older sisters, Margaret and Jean, lived in Downers Grove. Jack ran Schless Construction Company during the week and took everyone on horseback rides on Sundays, which influenced Bob’s interest in horsemanship for years to come.

As a teen, Bob achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and apprenticed to a carpenter in his father’s business. He attended Culver Military Academy, where he was a member of the cavalry and discovered the sport of polo, earning a spot on the varsity team his sophomore year.

Polo sparked his interest in Cornell University, where he might as well have majored in leisure, as he spent most of his time playing bridge and polo and taking up sailing – only showing up to class to take tests. This led his father to deliver an ultimatum his junior year: transfer to Swarthmore College or join the military!

At Swarthmore, Bob’s cocky confidence caught the eye of an English major named Mary Jean Gray. “That’s when my life changed forever,” he would later say. 

Upon graduating in 1954 with a degree in civil engineering, Bob entered the military but received an honorable hardship discharge when his father became ill. With his father’s health deteriorating, Bob’s courtship of Mary Jean grew more urgent and the two were married on November 19, 1955. Days later, Bob’s father passed away.

  At 22, Bob inherited Schless Construction Company. Over time he shifted the business focus from large municipal buildings to jobs requiring more engineering expertise, such as bridges, locks, marinas and dams. A highlight of Bob’s 50-year career was constructing the Main Ring for Fermilab’s original particle accelerator. That project earned the company the cover story in “Engineering News-Record” in 1971.

  The Schlesses settled in Wayne, Illinois, where they raised four daughters and built a vibrant home, filling it to the brim with friends, visitors and community members in need of guidance or happy hour. Bob and Mary Jean were pillars to many through participation in village life and long, active membership at the Little Home Church by the Wayside, where Bob served as moderator, Sunday school teacher, Christmas Pageant animal wrangler, and advisor during many of the church’s renovations and expansions.

  Bob’s love of riding was a throughline in his life. He taught his daughters to ride and rode with them in the Wayne-DuPage Hunt. In the 1970s, Bob returned to polo, playing in Mexico, Colombia and elsewhere. He also enjoyed sailing trips around the Great Lakes and played tennis and paddle tennis — so long as he could finish the match with a lively game of liar’s dice at the Dunham Woods bar. A lifelong prankster, he and his friends engaged in daring, hilarious and sometimes expensive antics involving repainted cars and unwanted statues.

A voracious reader, Bob’s passion for learning and deep curiosity about the world spurred him to a life of engagement and giving, both political and personal. As an engineer, he constructed numerous bridges, but Bob will be remembered most for the ones he built among friends, family and loved ones with whom he shared his immense generosity, thoughtful counsel and free, raucous laugh.   

Bob is survived by daughters Anne (Charles) Bouchard, Mary (Dan) Roach, Jane (Tim) Shelton and Caroline (Phil) Andres; grandchildren George (Leah), Olivia (Will), Clara (Clarence), Peter, Mary Alice, Maggie and Wren; great-grandson Henry; brother-in-law Alan (Julie) Gray, nieces, grand-nieces and nephew; and cousins. He was preceded in death by Mary Jean, his wife of 68 years, grandson Sam Shelton, and sisters Margaret and Jean.

A memorial service will be held November 22 at 10 a.m. at the Little Home Church in Wayne, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Bob’s honor to the Little Home Church; WTTW, Chicago’s PBS station; or WFMT, Chicago’s classical radio station.

• Send Flowers
• Guest Book
• Share
• Email
• Print