Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz remembered by North Shore residents as attentive and kind neighbor

Rocky Wirtz, the Blackhawks’ owner and local business owner, who died on July 25 at the age of 70, is being remembered mostly for his efforts tied into the Chicago Blackhawks. But some residents are recalling how the Wirtz house was a prime trick-or-treat destination on Halloween among other interactions.

For Northfield’s Molly Oelerich, the memories are sweet in both a literal and figurative sense as she was the parent of children who went to the Winnetka-area home of Rocky and Marilyn Wirtz on Halloween. After standing in what could be a long line, children would receive full-size candy bars from Marilyn and then Rocky would autograph hockey pucks as they stood in their driveway.

“It was a known thing,” Oelerich said, who brought her children for the trick-or-treating. “People in Winnetka knew you went to his house for Halloween.”

Oelerich said Wirtz was beaming on those Oct. 31 nights.

“He loved seeing all the kids,” she said, noting how he was signing the pucks in years when the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cup championships, making him quite the attraction.

“The guy who signed hockey pucks, the guy who owns the Stanley Cup-winning team. Who is going to say no to that?” Oelerich quipped. “Don’t get me wrong, the full size candy bars were a big draw.”

Oelerich recollected Halloween 2012 when she watched Wirtz bounce back between his house and the trick-or-treaters as he was dealing with a labor impasse with the NHL players that delayed the start of that season.

“I was pretty certain he was on the phone with (NHL Commissioner) Gary Bettman or one of the other owners trying to sort the whole thing out,” she said.

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Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz at the announcement of Luke Richardson as the new head coach on June 29, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Oelerich met Wirtz through Winnetka’s North Shore Country Day , as they were both alumni and trustees of the school.

NSCD Head of School Tom Flemma said Wirtz graduated from the school in 1971 and he remained a major presence at his alma mater afterward.

Wirtz served on the school’s Foundation Board where he helped manage the school’s endowment in recent years. Prior to that, he was a member of the Board of Trustees and was a main organizer of Class of 1971 reunions.

“I think this place meant a lot to him and he meant a lot to us,” Flemma said.

Flemma added Wirtz’s daughter Hillary taught at NSCD and other members of the Wirtz family attended the JK-12 school.

Flemma said he initially met Wirtz upon his hiring in 2016 and soon considered him a friend and mentor.

“He was never too busy to pick up the phone and help me with a problem,” Flemma said. “Rocky was a great connector of people. I was lucky enough to work with him on projects.”

Flemma said Wirtz was particularly active in the planning for the upcoming renovation of the school’s gymnasium, which is set to break ground later this winter.

“It was the gymnasium that Rocky played in and needs to be upgraded,” Flemma said. “Rocky had been instrumental all along in helping us think through how do athletic facilities need to evolve in the 21st Century.”

Flemma said Wirtz brought experts from the Blackhawks and the Wirtz Corporation to the school to advise NSCD employees on how to envision the renovation.

The two would occasionally talk hockey and Flemma said he last saw Wirtz at a school meeting in May just after the Blackhawks won the first pick in the NHL Draft lottery that the team used to select Connor Bedard, viewed as a once-in-a-generation player in some hockey circles.

“He was super excited,” Flemma said. “He loved that team so much and he was so excited to see what Bedard was going to bring.”

Another member of the community remembering Wirtz is Noushin Habibi, who owns a skin care business in Winnetka.

Habibi said Marilyn Wirtz was a client of hers and many years ago her previous employer was set to close, leaving the single mother of two facing an uncertain future. She was looking into reaching out to clients to be investors in her new business, but Wirtz interceded and introduced her to a financial services firm.

“Let me know what you need,” Habibi recalls Wirtz telling her. “I’ll help you and I will get you somewhere.”

Habibi remembers being afraid as she did not have a business background, but found reassurance from Wirtz.

“Whatever questions you have, ask me,” she said Wirtz told her. “He was supportive and he was a good friend. I feel like I lost a father all over again.”

Habibi said she would talk to Wirtz two or three times a month and the business is going well and felt Wirtz was proud of her.

“He always wanted me to do things to help people,” she said. “He really cared for people, I’ve never seen anyone like him.”

Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.