Willard Hal Sloan

Willard Hal Sloan was born at home in June 1919 in Chicago’s West-Englewood neighborhood, in a building owned by his grandfather, Haldor Christian Peterson, who immigrated from Norway and became a citizen in March 1888.

For reasons unknown, his parents called him “Tod”; and he would be known by Tod for the rest of his life.

The first floor of the building where he was born contained Grandpa Peterson’s business “The White Dry Goods Store”. There were three apartments above the store. Haldor and his wife, Julia occupied the first apartment. Tod and his parents, Lillian and George, lived in the apartment above that one. Tod’s Uncle Tom and Aunt Evelyn lived on the top with their three children. It was a close-knit family.

Industrious, even as a boy, Tod swept floors for the price of a ticket at the original Crystal Theater that was just across the street from the house. Movies were silent then, and there was a live piano player providing the soundtrack.

Tod graduated from the Harriett E. Sayre Elementary School.

During those early years, and inspired by Tom Swift books, Tod became adept at electronics and fascinated with radio waves. He taught himself Morse code by spending hours listening to and decoding radio transmissions. By the age of 13, he had successfully passed the test and was issued his FCC Amateur Radio License. He would remain a ham radio operator for the rest of this life.

When Tod was 10, Grandpa Haldor built a home for the family at 1759 N. Oak Park Ave. in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood. It was one of the first houses in that area.

Dad graduated from Steinmetz High School in Jan. 1937. A classmate would write in his yearbook “Tod can make a radio do anything but sit up and beg.”

During high school, he ran a radio repair shop for friends and classmates and showed us (with a twinkle in his eye) his business card, which read “If your radio needs fixing, go to Hal”.

In the years following graduation from Steinmetz, he worked for several companies testing and repairing electronic equipment, including Illinois Bell Telephone Co. in Chicago, as an installer and repairman.

In Nov. 1940, he developed a love of flying after a friend took him for a ride in a small private plane. Soon after, he enrolled in a night-school competition held at the University of Chicago for flight training under the War Training Service (WTS). His test scores were among the highest in the class of approx. 300 students, and he was awarded 1 of 10 scholarships for flight training at Washington Park Airport in Homewood, IL. He received his private pilot license in Oct. 1941.

In Feb. 1942, upon the recommendation of Washington Park Airport, he applied for Advanced Pilot Training under the USAAF Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP).

In May 1942, he was awarded Advanced Pilot Training; so he resigned from Illinois Bell and worked and trained at the Roscoe Turner Aeronautical Corp. in Indianapolis, IN, where he received his Commercial Pilot Certificate with Instructors Rating.

In Aug. 1942, he returned to Washington Park Airport as a Flight Instructor and remained there until May 1943.

In May 1943, he was hired by Roscoe Turner Aeronautical Corp. as a flight instructor and remained there until Jan. 1944.

He entered into active military duty in the Air Corps. on February 21, 1944 at Chicago, IL.

From Feb. 1944 to Aug. 1944 he taught flying at Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) for the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP).

In August 1945, he completed Advanced 2-E Pilot Training and was appointed and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Corps as a Pilot.

This training focused on advanced flying skills and prepared pilots for operational roles, emphasizing complex maneuvers and aircraft handling.

He duties took him to many bases, including: Army Air Force Training Base at La Junta, CO; Santa Ana Army Air Base near Santa Ana, CA; Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, TX; Pampa Army Air Field, TX; Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX; Randolph Field, TX; Keesler AFB Biloxi, MS and Laughlin AFB Del Rio, TX

He was honorably discharged from military service on Feb. 27, 1946 and returned to work at Illinois Bell in April 1946.

A year after he was discharged, a friend introduced him to Amorita McCulloch near her job at the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising agency in Chicago. Tod and Rita would both say it was love at first sight, and they were married three months later.

In the late 1940’s, Tod and Rita welcomed a son (Walt) and a daughter (Judy). Soon after, they built a house in the first subdivision in Lyons, Illinois.

In July 1950, Tod was hired as a Broadcast Technician for WGN-TV. He travelled between the John Hancock Building and the WGN studios at Bradley Place in Chicago.

Tod remembered being an audio engineer for a WGN crew that did a story about the first controlled nuclear chain reaction that occurred on December 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago under the west bleachers of Stagg Field led by a team of scientists headed by Enrico Fermi. He had been so excited to be at that historic site.

Dad and a few friends started “The Westside Business Men’s Flying Club” and co-owned a small plane for personal use. It was a Piper Tri-Pacer. Dad would fly us to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to visit my mom’s brother “Bud” (John D. McCulloch).

When we were kids, Dad bought a 14-foot runabout boat; and happy weekends were spent boating and water skiing on the Illinois River.

On July 1, 1974, he was promoted to Administrative Supervisor of Radio and Television Transmitters at WGN, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1983.

When Tod retired, he and Rita moved to Lake Zurich, IL. He took a few musical courses at the College of Lake County and learned to play the saxophone and clarinet. He, also, played piano and organ. He spent time restoring a player piano that he got as a young lad and always had multiple projects going on—most involving electronics. He received his 75-year pin from the IBEW in July 2022.

Rita passed at home in January 2012, just months after they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Tod lived at home until March 2025, at which time he moved into Sunrise Senior Living in Buffalo Grove, IL. The staff there did an amazing job of caring for “Grandpa”, as they called him; and he made many new friends, as did we.

Tod passed away peacefully, in his sleep, on August 25, 2025 after 106 “revolutions around the sun”, as he would say.

He is survived by his children Walt (Esther Gutierrez) Sloan and Judy Sloan, as well as grandchildren Todd Sloan (whose wife, Tara, predeceased him); Andrea Michelle “Michi” Sloan (Hatuey) Vergano and Daniela Sloan (Joe) Shansky. He is, also, survived by his great-grandchildren Hunter and Hannah Sloan; Lorenzo, Luca and Sienna Vergano; and Emel and Leo Shansky.

He was a loving, extremely intelligent, kind and generous man who enriched our lives immeasurably. His sense of humor was second to none. He was our inspiration, our mentor, our cheerleader, our guiding light, and our hero. We will love him forever and miss him until the day we are together again. We thank God that he was our Dad.