Berton G. Braun

Visitation for Berton Gilman Braun, 85, of Arlington Heights, will be held Thursday, June 28, 2018 from 9:00 AM until the time of the Funeral Service, 11:00 AM at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway, Palatine.  The interment will be held at 12:15 PM, June 28, 2018, at Evergreen Cemetery, 610 South Dundee Avenue, Barrington, IL 60010.

A Memorial Service will also be held Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 1:00 PM at Church Creek, 1250 W. Central Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.

Berton passed away on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. He died at home, Church Creek, and he is survived by his wife, Millie.

He was born on June 25, 1932, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Mervyn and Sadie Braun.  Following graduation from high school in Milwaukee, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1954, and then received a Masters Public Administration degree from the University of Michigan in 1955.  In the seventies, while working full-time, he pursued additional education. In 1979, he received a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, and subsequently passed the bar examination for the State of Illinois.

Braun was a dedicated life-long public servant, dedicated to the concepts of effective and democratic local government by responsible elected officials and belief that professional general management is essential to the achievement of this objective.  

He started his career in Grand Rapids, Michigan, working there from 1956 to 1963, and had the title of Assistant City Manager when he left Grand Rapids to become the first City Manager of West Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1963.  In 1965, Braun became a Research Associate/Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He was hired as the Village Manager of Palatine, Illinois in 1966, and served that community until 1973. He also served as Village Manager in the communities of Woodridge and South Elgin.  In his years before retirement, Braun worked as an attorney in the banking industry in downtown Chicago.

Braun was a voracious reader and lifelong learner in pursuit of knowledge for personal reasons as well as professional reasons.  He was a member of many professional organizations. For several years, he served on the Board of Education for Community Consolidated School District 15 serving seven suburban communities.  For many years, Braun worked as a licensed referee for both high school football and swimming.

He was the beloved husband of the late Susan R. Braun (nee Rogers), and second marriage with Mildred Hagan-Braun; loving father of  David (Patricia) Braun and Jeffrey (Tina) Braun; loving grandfather of David Paul Braun Jr., Adam Jeffrey Braun, Adam Cole Braun, and Kelsey Sloane Braun; and loving great grandfather to Josephine Braun, and Josiah Braun.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, Ben Gurion Way, 30 South Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60606.