Obituary: Alvin 'Al' ('Tip') Charles Skat Jr.

Alvin "Al" Charles Skat Jr. died Dec. 23 after a courageous year-long struggle with pancreatic cancer. He is the son of the late Ordie and Alvin Skat Sr. Al is survived by his wife, Sandra Brown Skat of Elmhurst; his daughters, Molly Skat (Aaron Hunt) of Thorn, Netherlands, and Betsy Skat Kruse (Lucas) of Iowa City, Iowa;  his granddaughters, Adley and Cora Kruse; his sister, Esme (Raoul) Ehr of Elm Grove, Wisc.; his brother, Mike (Leigh) Skat of Sanford, Fla.; and his nieces and nephews, Dalton, Cooper and Sloan Skat, Brenden and Maggie Brown, and Alissa and Abby Vriezelaar.

Al was born in Milwaukee Oct. 15, 1950, and lived in Waukesha and DePere, Wisc., before moving to Brown Deer, where he went to high school.  He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and his MBA from the University of Chicago. Al lived his adult life in Norridge and Elmhurst, working as a mechanical engineer designing many different products, ranging from bar code printers to automobile switches. He was a licensed professional engineer and had several patents to his credit.

Al was respected for his thoughtful consideration of others, along with his sense of fun and humor. There was nothing he loved more than his family, fishing and spending time at the family cabin in northern Wisconsin. He also liked reading, music, camping, hiking and cars.

A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, 367 Spring Road.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, 367 Spring Road, Elmhurst, IL 60126; New Tribes Mission for Betsy and Luke Kruse, 1000 East First St., Sanford, FL 32771; or the Caring Bridge Donation Processing Center, PO Box 6032, Albert Lea, MN 56007.