Edward Allen Treichel, 80, passed away peacefully Sept. 17, 2023.
Born in Melrose Park in 1943, Edward was a longterm resident of Chicago and then Hinsdale for the past 34 years. Edward earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate in finance and monetary economics at the University of Iowa. He spent 10 years teaching at his alma mater and the University of Maryland. It was at the U of M that Ed met the love of his life, Petra. From 1987 through 2001 he served as executive director and chief investment officer of Van Kampen Management Inc. He then co-founded and led McDonnell Investment LLC, a fixed income management firm with $12 billion in assets under management, as president and CEO until 2015 and through the firm's acquisition by Natixis Global Asset Management.
Once a world Little League champion and the smallest player on the Proviso East basketball team, he loved (but was often frustrated) rooting for his Chicago sports teams. Ed also loved to be present at Jeffrey's hockey games and music gigs and would routinely wake up at 4:30 a.m. to drive Alexa to figure skating practice before school.
As his kids grew, Ed enjoyed being able to watch Jeff's own family grow and recalled one of his happiest memories was Alexa legally buying him a beer at the Los Angeles Coliseum while her USC Trojans walloped Notre Dame. An accordion virtuoso and state finalist, Edward was multitalented and eclectic; he enjoyed many trips to Germany to visit with Petra's family, to London where he worked for several years through Continental Illinois National Bank, as well as France and Croatia. He was equally content walking the pier in Huntington Beach, catching blue gills in Wisconsin and especially tending to his backyard in Hinsdale with Mozart or Vivaldi blasting.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Petra (Kage) in September 2016.
Ed is survived by his son, Jeffrey (Alma); his daughter, Alexa (Paresh) Makan; his five granddaughters, Heidi, Haley and Hannah Treichel and Anika and Lena Makan; his brother, Dennis (Joanne); and his nieces and nephew.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Adolf and Powell Funeral Home, 7000 S Madison St., Willowbrook.
