Joe Schieszler, 84, a longtime Hinsdale resident, passed unexpectedly July 29, 2024, after a long battle with both heart and lung disease.
Joe was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Gus and Mary Alice Schieszler. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in chemical engineering. After coming to Chicago to work for the Borden Chemical Co., he went on with partners to start Resco. With his "We Can Do It" attitude and acute business sense, he formed Rescar and grew it into the largest privately held railcar maintenance and repair company in North America.
"Alltranstek" started from his vision that car owners and lessees could benefit from fleet management that not only helped with logistics of maintaining their railcars but also providing data and analytics that would become essential to complying with a difficult regulatory environment. Today "Alltranstek" manages more than half of the U.S. fleet of tank cars.
Joe was blessed with incredible employees who shared his "Can Do It" attitude. He always thought of his employees as family, and they were one of his main focuses. Their safety was priority 1. He continually tried to educate and advance their careers. One way he tried to show his gratitude was to have summer picnics and Christmas parties among other events around the different facilities, along with giving awards for service and time spent being with the Rescar family. Joe started the "Mr. Gus" sponsorship program for his employees and their families in honor of his father, Agustas Schieszler. Quite a success for a guy who started out recycling DF bars.
Joe always was enthusiastic about gardening and being out in the garden he created. Flowers were one of his many passions.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, LaVerne; his children, Joe (Monica), Susan (Bill Bowling), Jeffrey (Liza), David (Laurie Allen), Christopher and Jennifer Kois; his grandchildren, Christine (Eric) Ockrassa, Andrea, Leila, Lily and Makayla; and his brother, Agustas (Carole).
He was preceded in death by his son, Michael; and his brother, Jerry.
Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, at Sullivan Funeral Home, 60 S. Grant St., Hinsdale.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the funeral home.
Interment is at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Hillside.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Humanitarian Service Project, 465 Randy Road, Carol Stream IL 60188 (please put Joe's name in the memo) or online at http://www.humanitarianservice.org.
