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Allan Etzbach Obituary
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Beloved husband of Daryl Lynne Etzbach (nee Doris), whom he married August 12, 1967, loving father of David (Elizabeth) Etzbach, Paul (Marilyn) Etzbach and Mark (Leah) Etzbach, adored grandfather of Parker, Reid and Austin; Cecile; Sebastian, August and the late infant Mark Edward, son-in-law of the late Lauretta and Edward Doris brother-in-law of Peter (Carole) Doris and Orelle (Larry) Pinto, fond cousin, uncle, great-uncle, and friend to many.
Allan grew up in Paw Paw, IL and was a 4-letter varsity athlete and graduate of Paw Paw High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Monmouth College in Monmouth, IL and was an active member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Allan earned his master's in physics from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and taught high school physics at Antioch High School, Antioch, IL, Niles West High School, Skokie, IL, and for thirty years at Naperville Central High School until his retirement in 2004. Mr. Etzbach also taught summer programs for inner-city youth at Fermilab, Batavia, IL and summer evening physics classes at Illinois Benedictine College, Lisle, IL.
Allan was a longtime member of St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville and enjoyed making stained glass ornaments and lamps.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 6, 2024, 1:00-5:00 PM at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, October 7, 10:30 AM at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1215 Modaff Rd., Naperville, IL 60540.
Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Allan's memory may be made to: PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation, PO Box 871847, Kansas City, MO 64187, (816) 931-2600, https://pkdcure.org/give/
For more information, please visit www.friedrich-jones.com or call (630) 355-0213.
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Peggy Hoppenrath Thompson
October 8, 2024
Mr. Etzbach was my absolute favorite teacher in high school. He recognized my need for advanced learning and took me under wing and taught me photo developing in addition to attending class as an underclassmen for both physics and chemistry. He challenged my abilities which is what I needed at that point in my academic career. He had a great smile and will truly be missed. My condolences to the family.
Tom Paulsen
October 7, 2024
I remember Allan as a sweet, gentle man who loved physics and his students. He was an excellent teacher as I can attest having observed him in the classroom many times. It was an honor to be his colleague and will be praying for his family.
Joe Liaw
October 5, 2024
I am forever grateful for Allan Etzbach, my favorite teacher of all time, who left an enduring mark on my life.
Mr. Etzbach taught me that "Physics is PHUN!" and had a magical way of inspiring and motivating sleepy teenagers to learn the intricacies and beauty of the world around us. He always made learning an adventure, launching water balloons with gigantic PVC slingshots across the football field at him as our human target, armed only with a tennis racket. He even transformed our classroom into a darkroom each year, allowing us to make our own 3D holograms using giant sand tables, laser beams, and developer chemicals, all fueled by his unstoppable energy, creativity, and infectious enthusiasm for learning.
I was not only lucky enough to have Allan as my high school physics teacher, but halfway through my college career, I realized I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I changed my major to physics and secondary education and was then hired as a newly minted physics teacher at Naperville Central with Allan as my mentor. Boy, did I hit the jackpot!
As a new teacher, I often worked late afternoons and evenings grading papers and preparing lessons. Despite being a seasoned veteran, Allan was often there, too, tirelessly and meticulously preparing each day´s lessons, laboratory experiments, and crazy physics demonstrations. He was the dedicated virtuoso who loved what he did and worked hard to perfect the art and craft of teaching.
Allan was the best mentor, always willing to drop what he was doing to help his students after school and answer any questions I had as a new teacher. He generously showed me how to set up a Van de Graaf generator to throw big sparks without getting shocked too badly and taught me tricks of the trade like how to teach vector displacements through a pirate treasure hunt. His friendly smile and witty humor made the long days go by quickly. Even now, I still use some of Allan´s corny physics jokes and tricks to explain concepts to my students.
Mr. Etzbach´s legacy and impact on his students can be seen in the many who went on to become doctors, engineers, research scientists, business leaders, teachers, and contributing members of society. He exemplified kindness, patience, humor, the value of hard work, and how to be good human beings of moral character. I remember at our high school senior awards banquet, we were allowed to invite one of our favorite teachers as a guest of honor, and Allan was chosen by several of my classmates, which I believe happened quite often for him.
Even after moving to another school and Allan´s retirement in 2004, I was fortunate to see him over the years. His love and respect for the art of teaching ran so deep that he often attended the TriPhysics Meeting of ISPP (Illinois State Physics Project) / Physics Northwest / Physics West at Elmhurst College to share ideas, homemade experiments, and demonstrations with other Chicagoland teachers and professors-an evening of nerds gone wild, geeking out on all things physics!
Some people are placed in your life at just the right time through divine intervention, and Allan was one of those people for me. He was loved deeply by many and will be remembered for the lessons he taught through the way he so generously lived.
Joseph Liaw
NCHS Class of `91
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Jeff Hillock
October 5, 2024
I had the honor of spending my childhood around this wonderful man. His heart was genuine and kind. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone and would do whatever he could to help those around him. He helped raise an amazing family that we all love and support. He will be deeply missed but your impact on me and others will live on forever. Thank you for everything you did for me through the years, may you rest in peace. My thoughts are with you Daryl Lynne, Mark, Dave, Paul and your entire family.
Lynne Nolan
October 4, 2024
Not sure where to begin, maybe in 1980-81 when I took his Physics class. We called him Uncle Al, as he was all proper and nerdy, yet approachable and fun. He made Physics "easy" through a methodical approach spiced with DEMOS! Later in 1988, he became my mentor and colleague, as this Biology major learned to teach Physics by observing him and Jim Szeszol teach. I'm forever grateful for the generosity of an open classroom, all the demos, and expertise! He built my confidence and may have rolled his eyes at a few of my "mutations" of his lessons, but I always knew I could count on him. He loved his family, and I loved hearing the pride (and sometimes fatherly exasperation*) in his voice when talking about his sons. *YKIYK, boys! He was thrilled to see you each find your paths in life. Daryl Lynne, you were his everything! Your relationship, partnership, support of each other was/is a model for me to this day! It's not easy to say goodbye, but I'm so thankful that he is at rest with our Lord!
Jodi Rose
October 3, 2024
Mr. Etzbach taught me physics in high school and I LOVED his class. He made everything fun and you could ask questions and never be embarrassed. I´ll always remember him fondly. Rest in peace, kind man.
Michi Vojta
October 2, 2024
(I had posted this on the funeral home website this morning, so I'm reposting it here.)
Wow, I had been thinking of him recently; my daughter refuses to take high school physics because of the local teachers (she says), and I thought she would have enjoyed his class. I remember some bulky apparatus he set up in class, with mirrors and light bulbs, like a magician. I think he made physics come alive for us - though I blame him for Dave not coming to Central with us (but going to the nearby private school) ;-). Much as he loved teaching, I'm glad he had so much time to enjoy retirement. My condolences, and much love to all the family.
Michi Vojta, Raleigh NC
Christine Wehman
October 2, 2024
He was my physics teacher in approximately 1991. I am not particularly inclined towards science or math, but he made me love the class and speak highly of Physics class to my own children. Thanks for being an inspiring teacher and making science accessible and interesting to someone like me, Mr Etzbach! I'm a teacher now too (French) and I hope to follow your lead.
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