G. William Friedlander of
Evanston died Dec.20. Born March 1, 1929, in Evanston, and named for his
maternal grandfather Gustav, he was known to one and all as Bill.
The only son of Julius and
Helene Friedlander, Bill was raised in Wilmette and Glencoe and was a 1947
graduate of New Trier High School. He attended Carleton College in Minnesota,
transferring to the University of California at Berkeley, from which he
graduated in 1951 with a degree in sociology. He earned a Master's in Social
Work from Columbia University in 1953. Following work at a settlement
house in Indianapolis, Bill joined the staff at the Welfare Council of
Metropolitan Chicago.
In the summer of 1960 on a
visit to California, he met Harriet Treon, a native of Pittsburgh. They
were married on Nov. 18 of that year and lived in Lincoln Park, where sons
Gustave and Charles were born. Bill served as executive director of the Lincoln
Park Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enforcing
building codes and helping homeowners make improvements in a neighborhood where
many buildings had fallen into disrepair and were in danger of demolition. In
1965, the family settled in Evanston, where Bill and Harriet lived the rest of
their lives.
Going into business for
himself, for the next 20 years Bill was a freelance consultant in community
work, writing grant proposals, needs assessments and priorities studies for a
wide variety of nonprofit organizations in and beyond Chicago. Gradually
retiring from paying work, he continued for many years as a volunteer and board
member of several activist groups, most notably Amnesty International and the
Evanston Community Foundation.
He was a founding member of
Evanston's Amnesty Group 50 and remained for its entire duration as an
in-person organization. Bill was a lifelong social activist, beginning in the
1940s as a member of the World Federalist Movement. He was a member of and
contributor to a wide variety of social-justice and environmental
organizations.
Always capable, confident,
and strongly opinionated, in later years Bill was content to live simply. He
loved jazz, enjoyed riding his bike and swimming in Lake Michigan from one end
of the season to the other, and read for many hours each day. A lifelong Cubs
fan, he lived to see his heroes win the World Series in 2016.
Harriet's death on November
24, after 60 years of marriage, affected him deeply and he joined her just 26
days later. Bill is survived by his sons, both of Evanston, who miss him very
much. A memorial gathering is planned for a later date.
Arrangements by Cremation
Society of Illinois, 773-281-5058 or www.cremation-society.com.