Rolf Otto Stadheim, 82, Class of 1962, died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 29, 2023.
Rolf was born on May 3, 1940, in Kansas City, MO, to Otto and Olga Stadheim. He grew up in Park Ridge, IL, and lived in the Chicago area his whole life. A lover of the Bears, the White Sox, and Al’s Beef, Rolf always had deep admiration for the city of Chicago.
Everyone who knew Rolf loved him for his sense of humor. His quick wit and sarcasm would sometimes give you pause before you’d realize what he said was a joke and then you’d just laugh and laugh. He was irreverent, smart, and funny. He never took himself too seriously. In fact, he would have hated reading his own obituary and probably would have told us not to even write one.
Rolf graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and got his law degree at the University of Chicago. He built a highly successful patent law practice, Stadheim & Grear, with amazing offices in the tower of Chicago’s Wrigley Building. Inquisitive and curious, Rolf loved to research just about anything whether it be to prepare for a case, to check a historical fact, or to just have the satisfaction of correcting you! He was a voracious reader. You would often find him with a big, fat book and he would usually want to tell you all about it whether you were interested or not.
Rolf and his wife Kathy had a great appetite for adventure, fun, and interesting people. Rolf dove into the planning of many unique trips, crafting creative and detailed itineraries. The two of them explored many different countries, always looking for the authentic and unusual in new and out-of-the-way places. They adored laughing with their many close friends, whether it be on the golf course, at one of their cleverly themed parties, or while traveling.
Rolf was immensely proud of his daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. Known affectionately as Gramps, he loved nothing more than sitting on the porch on a summer evening in Michigan looking out at Crystal Lake as his grandchildren played wiffle ball on the sand, swam in the lake, or tried to get up on water skis. A beer in hand, his kids and grandkids grabbing a seat by his side to catch up on the day, he never took any of it for granted. He was always quick to say, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Rolf is survived by his wife Kathy and his daughters Kirsten Stadheim (Erich Wefing), Jenny Keller (Jack), Erika Kreisa (David) ‘93, and Abby Crawley (Mark) and his grandchildren Ingrid and Eleanor Wefing; Charlie, Teddy, Kate, and Reid Keller; Lucy ‘23, Billy, and Shea Kreisa; and Alex and Emma Crawley. He is also survived by his stepchildren Michael and Tim Sangston (Wendy) and their children Drew and Paige Sangston, as well as his siblings Todd Stadheim, Janey Kuhl (Beach), and Jerry Stadheim (Janet).
Always one to buck tradition, Rolf would have wanted some kind of clever ending to this obit – a joke of some kind or something sarcastic. But for now, we will all just smile thinking about all of the laughs that he provided us over the years. He will be greatly missed.