William J. Kallas, 90, of Crossville, TN formerly of Oak Brook Terrace, IL passed away Thursday, March 28, 2024. He was born December 29, 1933, in Forest Park, IL, the third child of James and Bertha Kallas. Mr. Kallas’ sister, Bessy and brother, Pete are deceased. Bill worked in his father’s shoe store where he shined shoes as a youth. After graduating Proviso High School in 1951 Bill served in the 90th Bomb Wing of SAC (Strategic Air Command) in the U.S. 8th Air Force during the Korean War. After attending college Bill entered the corporate real estate field dealing with major office buildings and developments, handling over 1,000 transactions. In 1993 he became Mayor of the City of Oak Brook Terrace for over 8 years.
Bill was married to Bonnie Sanders in 1956 and gave birth to Willam A. Kallas, who resides in Houston, Texas and has two daughters, Andrea & Krista. In 1971 he married Caroline and adopted her two daughters from a previous marriage, Rebecca Larson and Suzanne Tidei. Rebecca lives in Gilberts, Illinois and has twin boys, Palmer and Nathan. Suzanne lives in Kentucky and has ten children whose names are Daniel, Adam, Jonathan, Benjamin, Paul, Caleb, Joshua, Joanna, David, Mary. Amanda was born in 1975 with Down’s Syndrome. Caroline died of cancer in 1999. They were married 28 years. Amanda is 49 and lives at Little City Group Home in Arlington Heights, IL. In 2003 Bill married Sharon who has a son, Brian, who has Traumatic Brain Injury due to a car accident when he was 8. Brian is 56 and lives at Hilltoppers Group Home in Crossville, TN. They were married 20+ years. Sharon continues to live in Tennessee.
Mr. Kallas will be buried at his family grave site in the Angelcrest Cemetery in Valparaiso, Indiana. A visitation will be held on Monday, April 8th from 12 noon – 2 pm with funeral service beginning at 2:00pm at Angelcrest Cemetery Chapel, 180 E. 600 N., Valparaiso, IN.
