Thomas A. Wartowski

Thomas A. Wartowski, 73, died Thursday morning, December 17, 2020, with his adoring wife Peg and son David at his side, and his adoring first wife Anna waiting for him on the other side. His death, from lung cancer, was as peaceful as he had hoped it would be.
Tom was born May 12, 1947, in Trittau, Germany, to Leon and Ursula Wartowski. Fleeing their homeland of Poland from invading Russians and seeking a brighter future in a free United States of America, the family arrived at Ellis Island in 1951 on the U.S.S. General W. C. Langfitt. They settled in Chicago where Leon became well known in the local Polish community as a manager of a shoe store while Ursula was a chief accountant at Famous Brands and later W.E. Long, a bakery cooperative.
Tom grew up in Chicago, attending Jolly Fun Day School, St. Hedwig Grammar School, Weber High School and Truman Junior College. He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BS degree in Journalism in 1971 and later a Jurisprudence Doctorate in 1999.
Tom prided himself as being somewhat of a "Renaissance Man." Prior to starting any of his careers, he had worked as a Chicago Park District lifeguard, Checker Taxicab driver, freight handler for American Airlines at O'Hare, day camp counselor, freelance fashion and wedding photographer, inner city photography instructor and security guard at the City of Chicago municipal tuberculosis sanitarium. He also ran his own Chicago porch painting business one summer. He needed only one color of paint: battleship gray. His very first job, however, was selling shoes at the age of 12 in his father’s shoe store.
Following graduation from NIU, Tom worked at Rockford Newspapers where he started as a photographer and went on to become a reporter, feature writer, chief copy editor and news editor. He also filled in as a substitute teacher for the Rockford Public School District. He left the newspaper in 1979 to work as a personal aide to U.S. Representative John B. Anderson, of Rockford, during the congressman’s campaign in the Republican primaries to become the GOP’s candidate for the United States presidency. When the effort failed, Anderson ran for president as an independent and appointed Tom as the campaign’s Illinois State Coordinator. Tom’s tireless work helped set a state record for the number of voter signatures collected and filed.
After Anderson’s loss, Tom opened and operated his own businesses, Thomas A. Wartowski Realtor and Lifestyle Homebuilders, Inc., for 15 years. He built about 100 custom homes and rehabbed countless others. He enjoyed home design and decorating. After one transaction in which Tom received an island in the Rock River in lieu of compensation, he donated it to the Rockford Park District, which renamed it Wartowski Island.
Tom was active in the local Polish community, having organized fundraisers for families of Solidarity union members who helped topple the communist regime in 1983. He was president of the Rockford Area Association of Realtors; member of the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Chairman of Rockford School District’s Discipline Committee; and co-founded the Anna Wartowski Memorial Fund with his son, David.
Tom closed his businesses to attend law school and, after receiving his law degree, went to work for the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office where he was well known for prosecution of domestic violence crimes. Later, as an Administrative Assistant State's Attorney, he directed the modernization of office case management procedures and jail population reduction. He also has the distinction of being the nation’s first known prosecutor to successfully prosecute a computer user for unauthorized use of a Wifi system in 2006. Tom said working for the State’s Attorney’s Office was his favorite job.
In retirement, Tom wrote a children’s book, You Are Like an Acorn (https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/247151836/you-are-like-an-acorn), that was intended for his grandchildren, but has since found its way into thousands of other hands. He found great joy in knowing that people, young and old, found meaning in the book.
Tom was involved in several political campaigns in addition to Anderson's. He chaired the campaigns for Len Lapasso for Rockford Mayor and Chuck Prorok for State's Attorney. He also ran unsuccessfully for Winnebago County Recorder in 1992.
Tom is survived by his wife, Peg; his son, David (Alecia); five stepchildren: Megan Anderson (Matt), Beth Loner (Paul), Greg Wilkerson, Mark (Erin) and Andrew Perez; 16 grandchildren: Annika, Clara and Jackson Wartowski; Mitchell, Masen, Alea, Annie, Maddox, Abby, Anya, Miranda, Myles, and Malachi Anderson; Aly and Emily Loner; Bella Perez; his former wife and long-time friend, Angela Brancato; godchildren Sasha Zullo Gorospe and Allison Zullo Manausa, Scott Cryer, and Thomas Wojewodzki; and very best friend, Allan Zullo. Tom was predeceased by his first wife, Anna, in 1998.
Peg and David are incredibly grateful to OSF Hospice, and in particular Wendy Slick, for their compassionate and unending service to Tom as we walked the end-of-life journey together.
Funeral services will not be held at this time due to COVID-19. The family would like to hold a celebration of life in the summer of 2021, once it is advisable to do so.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Anna Wartowski Memorial Fund (https://www.cfnil.org/give-now/donate?id=1364), managed by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, to help underprivileged students at Lincoln Middle School in Rockford. Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford, IL 61108 assisted the family. Please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com