William J. Fahrenbach ’65 died on March 14, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.
(The following was provided by the Chicago Tribune on March 25, 2026:)
William J. Fahrenbach ’65
We are very saddened to announce the death of our dear brother, William (Bill) Joseph Fahrenbach, on March 14, 2026, at the age of 82. He died peacefully at his home, as was his wish. Bill was born on July 4,1943, in Chicago to his loving parents, Alice and John Fahrenbach. He was a brother to five siblings, and was an uncle, great-uncle, and a friend to many.
Bill was an exceptionally intelligent and hardworking man who had a very successful career as a university professor teaching English. Bill earned a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an M.A. from the University of Toronto in English. He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Fifteenth-Century British Literature in 1976. For most of his career, Bill taught a variety of English courses at DePaul University in Chicago. In addition to teaching, he published many scholarly articles regarding English literature. He retired in 2016. He was highly regarded by his academic associates and students at DePaul.
Bill looked forward to doing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle every week, watching “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” as often as possible and following the local, national and international news. He was an avid reader over a wide range of subjects and regularly analyzed several book review magazines with fellow book loving friends. The number of books in his personal library was extremely large. He also had an interest in Japanese art, decorating his apartment with it. And Bill had a large collection of antique glass pitchers and wall pockets he had gathered over the years.
Being born on July 4th, Bill often joked that our country didn’t have to go to such extremes as the July 4th fireworks to celebrate his birthday. He said that a simple birthday card from every person in our country would suffice. When Bill was a youngster, we remember him building and spending time in a tree house he built on an apple tree next to our home, playing “war” with the articles his uncles brought home from their World War II experiences and watching the infrequent (in those days) reruns of popular movies such as “King Kong” at local theaters. We also happily remember attending with him many very enjoyable large family gatherings with numerous aunts, uncles and cousins on holidays, birthdays and other such occasions. He liked those gatherings a lot. As a teen and later on, he had fun sailing on Wisconsin and northern Illinois lakes with family and friends. And he was a fan of the Chicago Bears.
Bill is survived by four siblings, Jack (Linda), Marge, Ann Kuehn (Case) and Joe (Marlene), nine nieces and nephews, many great-nieces and great-nephews, along with too many cousins to count. His parents, a brother, and Randy Munoz, his partner and companion for twenty-one years, preceded him in death.
Bill will be greatly missed. He helped many people during his life and left all of us with countless terrific memories.