Glenn C. Fredrickson

1927 - 2023

Glenn C. Fredrickson
Born: December 25, 1927 in Princeton, IL
Died: March 5, 2023 in Ottawa, IL
Glenn C. Fredrickson, 95, of Peru, passed away Sunday, March 5, 2023 at the Ottawa Pavilion.
According to his wishes, there will be no services and he has donated his body to science. Burial will be held at a later date in Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Leonore.
Glenn was born December 25, 1927 in Princeton to Mandus and Martha (Henman) Fredrickson. He married Iona M. Puetz on April 20, 1952 at St. Louis Catholic Church, Princeton.
He graduated from Princeton Township High School and immediately entered the U.S. Army, serving three years of active duty, the last two as a commissioned officer assigned to the New York Port of Embarkation and was active in the planning and implementation of the World War II Repatriation Program. Over 100,000 returned through this port. He felt privileged to serve his country. Military service matured him and he was separated with the rank of Captain. Although offered a West Point appointment, he looked forward to a law enforcement career.
After service, Glenn joined the Illinois State Police, working in several districts, teaching at the academy, and infiltrating gaming organizations to facilitate their arrests. He was the first commander of Post 5-A LaSalle, the predecessor to District 17. Glenn served as operations commander of the Criminal District, Springfield where he gained state wide knowledge and was in charge of the governor's security detail. He also served as a field representative of the Law Alliance of America.
He served as commander of District 5, Joliet where an officer was murdered in the headquarters and another wounded before the shooter took his own life, all occurring within 15 seconds.
Glenn's last state police assignment was as Area 1 commander in charge of the Five District 800 personnel in the Chicago area. This required assisting the secret service with movements of the President and others, including the Emperor and Empress Hirohito of Japan during their first American visit. He was also in charge of the state's law enforcement response to the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 on May 5, 1979 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, America's worst crash.
Glenn was offered a deputy chief position, but chose to retire. He later returned to work with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, where he was in charge of downstate investigators and was tasked with the initiative that made the Investigators Law Enforcement Officers in Illinois.
He served Peru City as a member of the police commission and later accepted the position of chief of police. As chief, he initiated Crime Stoppers, the Peer Jury system and the Citizen's Police Academy. He made the Peru Police First Responders and they became the first small department in Illinois to train and equip officers with AED's. Department officers welcomed these challenges and made these initiatives successful.
He held positions as a board member of the Illinois Emergency Radio System and was an appointed member of the Governors Terrorism Task Force. He was the early advocate of the 911 merger of the local communication systems of the Illinois Valley and envisioned a future establishment of an Illinois Valley Metropolitan police agency.
Glenn respected law enforcement officers as they were often challenged in their duties.
Glenn always said the most important event in his life revolved around his marriage to Iona, the birth of their daughter, Jerri who later married Lance Wojciechowski, giving them two wonderful grandchildren, Claire and Nicholas.
He is survived by his two grandchildren, Claire Wojciechowski of New York City and Nicholas Wojciechowski of Peru; one sister-in-law, Cheryl Puetz of rural Lostant and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Iona on August 19, 1996; his only child, Jerri Wojciechowski on September 4, 2016; his son-in-law, Lance Wojciechowski; his sister, Helen Blythe and brothers and sisters-in-law, Darwin Blythe, Daniel and Coletta Durdan, Rodger and Jillian Puetz, Richard Puetz and Ronald and Margaret Puetz.
The online guestbook may be viewed and remembrances shared at www.MuellerFH.com.