Obituary of Leslie Eugene Natzel

Leslie “Les” Eugene Natzel

November 2, 1941 - September 24, 2021

 

Born November 2, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, Leslie (Les) Eugene Natzel, age 79, passed away peacefully on September 24, 2021, in Milwaukie, Oregon, on a beautiful day as he sat outside in a favorite chair. He battled advancing Alzheimer’s for 3 years while staying in a home care facility somehow believing he was always helping his care givers if not actually in charge of them.

As a kid attending Leyden East high school in Franklin Park, Illinois, Les truly represented the image of the gearheads from the Happy Days scene. He partnered up with friends like Jim Shannon drag racing their cars with others in front of Skip’s Drive In, off North Avenue in Elmwood Park, Illinois. They made extra money doing the paint and body work to the cars that got banged up so those kid’s parents would not be wise to what happened. Working on their own cars, they frequented Victory Auto Wreckers in Bensenville, Illinois so often they had their own private entrance. Lacking the money for proper tools like a welder, they would climb the power poles and hook up wires to make their own.

After graduating Leyden East in 1959 undecided about his career path, Les first applied to work for the National Tea Grocery Chain which later would be sold to the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company or as we knew it A&P. But instead went on to get an opportunity to work in the printing industry through a salesman that he knew. Improving his skills over the years while a member of the Graphic Arts Union, the printing industry would remain his primary career on his way to becoming a successful salesman with Cogan-O’Brien, Momentum Graphics, and finally Fuji Film, selling print and prepress supplies, until retiring at age 68. In-between his start and finish in the printing industry, he did try his hand at his own family pre-press facility (Prep Masters) in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and then later his own family restaurant (Holiday Inn Homestead) in Minocqua, Wisconsin where he enjoyed vacationing so much, he said “why not own a restaurant?” Later, he returned to the print industry and settled in Milwaukie, Oregon to take in all the natural beauty of the land, rivers, and Pacific Coast that the state offered, and where he continued calling home with his life partner, Diane, until his passing.

Photography was one of Les’ hobbies. Over the years he would graduate from using black and white and color film on a Minolta 35 mm single reflex camera to today’s current high end digital versions. He mostly enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and the wildlife found in the places he would visit, as well as his dogs and his family through the years. But like most dads, he would spend most of his time behind the lens instead of in front of it.

His greatest passion was the outdoors. Hunting, snowmobiling, and golf entertained him, but he loved fishing the most and made it not only a hobby but an adventure. Ontario, Canada was his favorite fishing hole and Rainy Lake bordering Minnesota and Ontario was his absolute dream location to houseboat and fish wherever we wanted to. So many memories as well as larger than life fishing stories would be born there with family and friends.

 

If you asked the people who knew Les Natzel who he was, there would be many opinions. A gearhead, an avid outdoorsman, a great salesman, a problem solver, a dreamer, a tinkerer, a family man, loving father, and most definitely the world’s greatest fisherman. He was a lover of classic cars, Canadian beer, fine cigars, scotch, and an avid lover of Golden Retrievers. Honestly… he never met a dog that he didn’t love to spoil.

Les may have been all these things to many of us. He had an enthusiasm to be more competitive whenever possible and that is something his children learned to appreciate over the years. To me, his son, he was bigger than life, a natural leader, and very much my best friend. He drew on his life experience and taught his children to get up when you fall and keep trying.

We not only mourn the passing of a loved one but also celebrate their life. It is through our stories that we remember and share that which connects and unites us. It is through those stories that our loved ones truly never die.

Preceded in death by his parents Albert Natzel and Helen (Pytko) Natzel, and sister Beverly (Natzel) Smoczynski.

Survived by life partner Diane Baldino, his son Ted (Julie) Natzel of Rolling meadows, daughter Allison (Al) Lorr of Wonder Lake, and grandchildren Emily (Natzel) Dolleton, Logan Lorr, and Delaney Natzel.

Donations may be made in his name to: the Humane Society @ www.humanesociety.org or Alzheimer’s Association @ www.alz.org

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