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Beryl W. Sprinkel, Beecher, IL, 85, of Fort Myers, FL, died Saturday, Aug. 22, born Nov. 20, 1923 to Clarence Sprinkel and Emma, nee Schooley. Beryl and brother Wendell were raised on their family farm near Richmond, MO. Beryl served honorably in WWII as a member of the 41 Armored Division, which led the attack that penetrated and defeated the German offensive near Celles, Belgium, in the pivotal Battle of the Bulge. He later earned a B.S. in Economics at the University of Missouri, and M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago, where he met and studied under his lifelong mentor, Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman. Sprinkel taught Economics at both Universities, at the latter as a graduate student and after retirement from public service. At the Harris Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago from 1952-1981, he served as Vice President and Economist, Director of Research, Senior Vice President, and Executive Vice President, and was a contributing member of numerous government and private-sector organizations, including the Time Magazine Board of Economists from 1968-1980. Sprinkel served in the Reagan Administration as Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs from 1981-1985 and as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors from 1985-1989. He was a Cabinet member beginning in 1987. He subsequently advised domestic and foreign governments and private firms as a private consulting economist and member of several private-sector boards of directors. He was a recipient of numerous private and public sector awards and eight honorary doctorate degrees. Sprinkel's main contributions to Economics were in documenting the relationship between the Federal Reserve Board's monetary policy and the behavior of stock prices, and in designing and administering economic policy during the Reagan Administration, including the Third World debt crisis and the recovery from the 1987 stock market crash. In his private life, he was a charter member of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School board, serving as President from 1959-1960, and an active member of Flossmoor Community Church and Flossmoor Country Club. He loved music, especially singing and playing the guitar; enjoyed a variety of indoor and outdoor sports including hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, cycling, badminton and table tennis; and traveled extensively professionally and privately throughout the world. He is survived by his loving wife Lory Reed; son Kevin (Beth) and grandchildren Jessica, Todd, and Michael; grandchildren Katy and Stephen; Lory's daughter Janet and grandchildren Meredith and Erin; Lory's son David (Ann) and grandchildren Michael, Lauren, and David; many loved nieces and nephews; and first cousins Kenneth and Shirley Schooley; he is preceded in death by parents Clarence and Emma; brother Wendell; wives Esther and Barbara; and children Dennis and Gary. A Memorial Service celebrating his life will be held at Flossmoor Community Church in Flossmoor, IL, on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m. Memories and pictures from his life will be displayed in the narthex for viewing before and after the service. His remains will be interred in the Memorial Garden at Flossmoor Community Church in a private family ceremony prior to the service. Donations in his memory supporting Doctoral fellowships in Economics and the Booth Business School may be made to the Beryl W. Sprinkel Fund at the University of Chicago, Dean's Office of Social Science, 1126 E. 59th St., Suite 110, Chicago, IL 60637.
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Published in Chicago Tribune on Aug. 27, 2009
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