Jake Olbrich

Cherry Valley - H. Jake Olbrich died on August 10, 2025. He was born on January 1, 1935 to Raymond Olbrich and Elsie (Ottens) Olbrich in Harvard, IL. He was a farmer and then a J. I. Case dealer in Harvard. He later moved to Belvidere and then Cherry Valley where he owned Olbrich Oil, became a journeyman electrician, worked in construction at the Byron Nuclear plant, and taught himself computer programming on early Atari computers.

Jake graduated from Harvard High School in 1952. He was a 4-H leader in Harvard, and a member and leader of many groups, including Atari computer user groups, Parents without Partners, and the Perot campaign for president. He had a huge vegetable and fruit garden. His kitchen was usually overrun with recently picked sweet corn, potatoes, grapes, berries, or walnuts. His cabinets were full of fruit juice waiting to be turned into jelly, or completed jars of jelly waiting to be given away. He loved farm equipment and gadgets of every kind and couldn't rest until he had tweaked every last one of them to work just a little better.

Survivors include his children Dan Olbrich of Rockford, Gail Olbrich of Holland, Michigan, and Suzannah (Matt) Young of Rockford; grandchildren Kyle (Haylee) Masteller and Nick Young; brother Bill (Diane) Olbrich and sister Marjorie "Midge" Roach of Harvard; brothers-in-law Lyle Kleckner of Harvard and Darwin Sawallisch of Woodstock; sister-in-law Beverly Sawallisch of Algonquin; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife Marilyn Olbrich, Teresa Olbrich, his parents, his siblings Dorothy Kleckner and John Olbrich, his brothers- and sisters-in-law James Roach, Janice Olbrich, Celia Olbrich, Ken Sawallisch, and Betty Sawallisch.

Family and friends are welcome to join us for a Celebration of Life on Saturday, August 16 at Big Foot Inn in Harvard. A light luncheon will be served from 12pm - 3pm.