Adolph "John" Havlis

1936 - 2025

Adolph 'John' Havlis
Born: May 8, 1936
Died: October 6, 2025
Adolph "John" Havlis was born May 8, 1936, in Decatur, IL, to Adolph John "Jack" and Anna Mae (Johnson) Havlis. He passed away peacefully from this life on October 6, 2025.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 88 years, Margaret (Nolan), his four children, Priscilla Havlis of Eugene, OR, John Havlis (Lily) of Woodstock, IL, Marguerite Havlis (Tony Jinks) of Tucson, AZ, and Peter Havlis (Astrid) of Woodstock, IL; his grandchildren, Sabrina (Havlis) Wilcoxen, Ronan Havlis, and stepgrandson, David Jinks. John is also survived by his two sisters, Mary Havlis, of Lake Geneva, WI, and Patricia (Havlis) Finn, of Huntley, IL.
John spent his early grade school years in Glen Ellyn, Il, Cincinnati, OH, and Woodstock, IL. He enjoyed attending Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, stating "those were the best years." Sport coats were required, and he was taught by all male teachers, including Misters Warner, Pinto, and Brady. A member of the student council advancing the student vote for a Coke machine, he remembered being overruled by the headmaster, who remarked "This is not a democracy." He also stated, "Problems were solved in PE class, where we put on the gloves and boxed it out." John's favorite memory was sitting at the lunch table with the headmaster, who noted a classmate's shoes off, and whispered "Mr. Havlis, please pour your water into your classmate's shoe now. We do not remove our shoes at the table."
When his father moved the family to Woodstock, IL, and the family business to Hebron IL, one of John's favorite memories of living on Judd St. in Woodstock, was his father walking him and his sisters Mary and Pat to the Dairy Queen on Washington Street, buying them each a five-cent ice cream cone. A few years later, the family relocated to Williams Bay, WI, and John attended St. Mary's High School in Woodstock, while enjoying the "Lake Life" – sailing, waterskiing, speedboating, and entertaining friends lakeside on Lake Geneva.
John attended Bradley University in Peoria, IL, studying business. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and he especially enjoyed living in the fraternity house where the house mother cooked sit-down meals and "steak on Sundays." John's fraternity brother, Keith Bell, set him up on a blind date with Keith's childhood friend from Wenona, IL, a beautiful nursing student at nearby St. Francis School of Nursing in Peoria, Margaret Nolan. John "pinned" Margaret with his fraternity pin in 1958, and they were married on November 21st, 1959.
John was a proud member of the Army Reserves, based at Fort Leonard Wood, KS, and Ft. Knox, KY. He enjoyed his military service and the discipline it offered. His interest in cooking was noted, and he often performed "KP duty." He said the highlight of being at Ft Knox was that the soldiers "got to go to the Kentucky Derby for free."
John and Margaret moved to Fontana, Wisconsin as a newly married couple, and he began working with his father, Jack Havlis at Keystone Metal Products (currently Keystone Display Corp.), a wire and metal point-of-purchase-display fabrication and manufacturing plant in Hebron, IL. John eventually acquired the family business, expanding it with Swiss automation and national clients, and enjoyed many years of successful business relationships with national clients, including Brach Candy, Master Lock, Wrigley Gum, Sherwin-Williams, Wal-Mart, and Michael's Craft Store.
John had a lifelong love of owning and raising German Shepherd dogs, finding them lively, intelligent, and companionable, especially Kimba, his dear favorite.
John enjoyed an adventure-filled life with his family; including sailing his J-22 sailboat, Isis, with his sons in competitions on Lake Geneva, even mastering the art of "raising the spinnaker;" raising and riding horses in the Bull Valley Riding Club with Margaret, and driving the horse trailer to many horse shows for his daughters; skiing at Wilmot and Alpine Valley, WI, and holiday ski trips to Powderhorn Mountain in Ironwood, MI, and Vail, Co. His skiing days began in his 20s, with his friend Bob Evans, and he recounted the time he crashed on a black diamond run, and "when I woke up, my skis were reversed, and I had lost both gloves, so I got up, and kept going" (skiing the rest of the day on what was later diagnosed as a broken ankle).
John enjoyed classical music, musical productions, and the opera; "La Boheme" and "Madame Butterfly" were his favorites. He spent many Sunday afternoons driving the family to Arie Crown Theater in Chicago to see the musicals and the symphony. Highly enjoyed were Yul Brynner in "the King and I," and Richard Burton in "Camelot." He spoke proudly of his cousin, Anne McKnight, who performed as Musetta in "La Boheme" under the director Toscanini, and he corresponded with her for many years after her retirement in Switzerland.
John especially enjoyed travel and visiting new places, far and wide, throughout his life. He drove the family station wagon many a time across the west and southwest US, stopping at national parks, pulling out the cooler for picnics along the route, and, often ending up in San Pedro, California to visit the Summer family. He and Margaret took many trips with couple friends, traveling Europe and sailing the Caribbean with their dear couple friends. As well, John traveled with Margaret and his kids to Europe and the islands on multiple occasions, from France, to Italy, to Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, to Ireland and the Czech Republic, as well as many Caribbean islands. John was interested in his Bohemian ancestry. He was able to make several trips to the Czech Republic with his cousins Leonard and Andrew Havlis, and Joe Zderad, and visit his relatives throughout the countryside and Prague.
John enjoyed cooking and fine dining from a young age, eagerly assisting his mother in the kitchen, and attending formal holiday dinners at his Aunt Van's home. His "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child was his mainstay throughout his life, and, in his later years, he became fond of baking, and perfecting Joseph Keller's Chocolate cookies, and Brioche loaf. As well, his interest in fine French wines was a lifelong educational journey, and he was able to visit several French vineyards, as well as most of the Northern California wine country.
John's lifelong passion and joy was designing and creating an arboretum-like yard over the 60-plus years of living at 715 Woodland Drive in Bull Valley. He received counsel, advice, and the best plant and tree specimens from his dear friends and nursery owners, Richard and Susie Eyre, and he spent many contented years designing niche gardens, sitting areas and vistas on the property. He hosted many local and Chicago-based garden walks, and visits from local community college landscaping students through the years, and he knew the Latin names of every tree and specimen on his property.
John lived a long, successful, adventure-and-experience-filled life. He enjoyed a beautiful family life with his beloved Margaret and children, and he often commented "I wish it hadn't gone so quickly; it's never enough time."
"His road ends now, but the land goes on. The land goes on like mercy, out and around forever."
The family is exceptionally grateful for the years of attentive, compassionate care by: Dr.'s Joseph Emmons, Thomas Weyburn, Hetal Ghandi, and Amit Arora, as well as Margaret's beloved caregiver and their faithful friend, Alicia Dent.
Visitation will be held Thursday, October 16, 2025 from 8;30 to 9:30 a.m. at Schneider, Leucht, Merwin, Cooney located at 1211 N. Seminary Avenue in Woodstock. A funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m. at St Mary's Catholic Church, 312 Lincoln Avenue in Woodstock. Interment will follow in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Woodstock.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration of a donation to a charity of your choosing.