Visitation for Wally T. Biela, 74, of Rolling Meadows, will be held from 4:00 pm until the time of the Funeral Service at 6:00 pm on Friday, April 15, 2022, at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway, Palatine. A private family Interment will take place at a later date, at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood.
Wally grew up in Mount Prospect where he began many life-long friendships. He was a proud Vietnam veteran who loved his country. He worked for many years at Mount Prospect Post Office and later went on to become a skilled carpenter and remodeling contractor. He was a devoted family man who got much joy from spending time with his children and grandchildren. He loved baseball, especially the Cubbies. He had a passion for rock and roll and the blues and could often be found enjoying live music. He had a green thumb and was fascinated by Native American culture. He made every holiday larger than life for his kids and grandkids through decorations and traditions. He was an expert griller and master gift giver. He loved to organize events and throw parties, often inviting more people than could fit in his house. He never missed the chance to sit by a campfire and enjoy “the lively art of conversation.” He was the first to buy a round at the bar, and he would most definitely insist that you had “one for the road.” His generosity and passion will live on through his family and friends. His close friends from childhood, the army, his jobs, and adulthood will remember the many good times they had together.
Wally was the devoted dad of Kelly (Mark) O’Kelly and Tyler (Laura) Biela; proud “Pops” of Cooper, Colin, Emersen, and Anna. He was the caring brother to Dianne (Mark) Smitter and Marilyn (Tom) Ungaro; and cherished uncle to several nieces and nephews.
He will be missed by his ex-wife and friend Carol Biela and brother-in-law Jamey (Nancy) Lill.
He is preceded in death by his parents Waldemar and Virginia Biela, his brother Joe Biela, and in-laws Joan and Jim Lill.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project.
Wally was great man, a distinguished veteran and good soul!! He will be sorely missed! I am glad to have known him and called him my friend.
Rest in peace, Wally. It was an honor to be your friend since 7th grade. You brought joy and laughter to your family and friends and their memories of you will be lasting. You excelled at all the important things – father, grandfather, friend. I will miss getting together, reminiscing, and clicking glasses. Always in my thoughts.
Rest in peace Wally.I will miss him at the spring training games.Wally was my son’s GodFather.I knew Wally over 50 years,always fun to be around.
Wally and I met in 1997. I was 40 and he was 50. I thought for sure he was younger than me. Enough so that I demanded that he show me his driver’s license. It started a conversation about everything under the sun. I told him that I liked blues music, and he said he did too. I told him I loved the Rolling Stones, and he said he did too. I said my ethnicity was Polish, and he said (reluctantly, because he insisted he was American first), that he was too. I said I loved gardening, and he said he did too. He talked about the vegetables and flowers that he grew at home, and finally, I called “bulls**t”. Come on, I’m thinking. This guy is just saying what I want to hear. So I threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to a tomato growing contest. This prompted one of our first, funniest get-togethers. The plan was that I would buy him a tomato to grow, and he would buy me a comparable one, and we would plant them at the same time and check out the progress throughout the season, competing for the biggest, most luscious tomato harvest. That first time that he came over with his tomato ‘gift’ for me, it looked okay, but it was custom-labeled the “Bullsh*tski Hybrid”. Anyway, I planted it, and he planted mine. I lost. The Bullshitski Hybrid turned out to be one of the smallest grape tomato plants available on earth.
One of our first dates, he was at my house and we sat around the campfire having a few beers that turned into a few more beers and we talked about everything under the sun. And until the sun rose, as a matter of fact. It was at the time that he told me about his family, especially his kids. I asked him what his son’s name was. He said “Otto”. Really? I said “Otto”? He said, “yes, his middle name is Moe”. I sat for a few seconds and realized…so, “Otto Moe Biela”? His daughter’s name was Sheila, he said. He had me in stitches!
Throughout the years, we had many, many vacations and outings, the memories of which will be in etched in my heart forever. One of Wally’s lifetime dreams was to visit every ballpark in the country. We never completed that goal, but we did have wonderful memories of our times in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Texas, Milwaukee, Washington DC, Tampa, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Arizona, Kansas City, St. Louis and of course, Chicago. I may have missed a couple. We’d go to a game or two each time and see the landmarks at each location. I can’t tell you which was my favorite; they were all fantastic trips with their own special highlights and memories.
We began a tradition of going to Wisconsin State Fair in August way back when, and continued to do that for maybe 15 years. One of the first times we went, we danced at practically every music tent on the grounds. The bands at Wisconsin State Fair typically played classic rock, sometimes blues; right up our alley. But we realized the first (or second?) time we went, that we must have heard, and thus danced to, the song “Mustang Sally” at least five times! For some reason, it stuck…it became “our song”. We made a promise that every time we heard Mustang Sally, no matter where we were or what we were doing, we had to stop and start dancing to it. And we did. And wow, it sure seemed like it played a lot, and everywhere! Like the time we stepped into a bar in Texas that looked a little rough around the edges. We didn’t want to just walk in and walk out, so we sat at the bar and had a quick beer. As we were about to walk out the door, the band started up playing Mustang Sally. So…there we were. The only two dancing in this weird honkey tonk. We finished our dance and just walked out the door. Or the time we were leaving San Francisco to catch our flight home. We stopped in a place near our hotel to have some lunch and ‘one for the road’, and as we were walking out, Mustang Sally came on in the jukebox. We were almost late for our flight. Or the time, for some crazy reason, the song came on at Dominick’s grocery store. That was really weird. I could go on. I can never listen to Mustang Sally without remembering all these funny memories of us dancing in public, laughing the entire time.
I have an above ground pool in my backyard. Before I met Wally, it was just a plain ol’ 24 x 15 pool with a small deck and a ladder. One night, sitting around the campfire, we came up with idea of attaching a tiki bar to one corner. That was the beginning of a ‘labor of love’, year after year adding to the tiki theme and turning my backyard into a paradise for friends and family to enjoy with us. Eventually we added an outdoor TV, where we could watch the Cubs while lounging in our noodles, our AB’s (‘adult beverages’) staying cool in the shade of the tiki bar. I’ll take credit for some of the ideas but Wally made them reality. We loved working on it each Spring, adding signs and lighting that we purchased sometimes from the Wisconsin State Fair or Christmas gifts from Wally from the year before. We would have some deep discussions while floating around…we’d talk about family, religion, health, the future. And we’d also talk about silly things that would have us laughing so hard…no doubt one of the reasons why Wally insisted I buy a ‘deluxe’ porta-potty to put on the deck in case we couldn’t make it all the way into the house if the laughing got out of control. We ‘tiki’d’ it up, of course…it is definitely one of a kind, so says the sanitation company that would come and clean it. He would say some goofy thing and off I’d go! We’d both laugh and he would always say “you’re going to miss me when I’m gone!” to which I reply, “why, where do you think you’re going?”
We would hang out in the pool nearly every sunny weekend in the summer. Wally wouldn’t even care if it was sunny most times…if it rained, he’d ask me to grab him a baseball cap so the raindrops could stay out of his eyes while he stayed in the pool.
There were sooo many more happy times and great memories. I could go on. And maybe someday I will.
Like all couples, Wally and I had our issues. We didn’t agree on everything. One thing that we did have in common, besides those already mentioned, is our stubbornness. And I’ll just leave it at that.
Yes, Wally, I’ll miss you when you’re gone. I already do. You were one of a kind. I love you and I’ll never, ever forget you and the times we had. Rest in Peace, my Schmo. <3
Dear Kelly and Tyler,
As the Director of Alumni Relations Emeritus at Saint Viator High School, I offer you the sympathy and prayers of the Saint Viator High School community. Our hearts go out to you as you move through your journey of grief. You are in our prayers as you continue to share the stories, laugh and cry, and find ways to celebrate your father’s life and the love you shared.
I felt blessed to be able to celebrate your father’s life at the funeral service. Kelly as a former teacher, I have to say you did an A++ job of describing the many ways your statement: “They don’t make them like him anymore” is so very true. As a “Dad, Pops, Brother, Uncle, Brother in Arms, and Friend,” your father clearly made a difference. We are certainly proud to “claim” this passionate and generous man, who was a “devoted family man” and a “proud Vietnam veteran,” as an alumnus. It is clear to me that your father made in difference in the lives of those around him. I am reminded of a reading from the Book of Sirach.
“Let us praise an illustrious man,
faithful to his family and friends, strong in his love.
At peace in his heart and his world,
he has left us his good name,
and we recount his life of praiseworthy deeds.
A generous man his good works will never be forgotten.
Among his family and friends remains a rich inheritance born of him….
His name lives on from generation to generation.
We gather to sing his praises.
We proclaim his wisdom and love of life all our days.”
We want you to know that Saint Viator will remember your father and celebrate the fact that he continues to be a member of our community. He will be remembered at our annual Alumni Memorial Mass, which will be celebrated on Sunday, November 6, at Saint Viator in the Alumni Memorial Chapel. Information about this will be available at SaintViator.com in the “Alumni” section in the fall. As is tradition, we will be ordering a plaque with his name to prayerfully honor him on the Alumni Memorial Wall in our chapel along with the names of other deceased alumni from Saint Viator and Sacred Heart of Mary. Also, his name will be listed in the “In Memoriam” section of the summer issue of our news magazine, A Lion for Life.
May memories of your father and the love you shared comfort you!
May the knowledge that he lives on in your goodness give you peace and hope!
Take care and God bless you with those gifts you most need!
Judith
Judith Wampach Amberg
Saint Viator High School Director of Alumni Relations Emeritus