Norman Ulrich, 95, Army Air Corps Pilot, Oak Park Business Owner

Norman Ulrich of La Grange Park, who earned a Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal and a place in the Lyons Township High School Hall of Fame, died Jan. 14, 2016.

Ulrich is survived by his wife of 70 years, three children, 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, according to Hallowell and James Funeral Home.

Ulrich was born in Berwyn, he grew up in Western Springs, and he attended Lyons Township High School before earning his pilot’s license and enlisting in the Army Air Corps.

In May 1944, his plane was shot down over Germany, and he was sent to Stalag Luft III as a prisoner of war. He and other prisoners were freed in April 1945.

Ulrich got into advertising, and he eventually started his own business in Oak Park, according to the funeral home.

He served as president of the The Art Directors Club of Chicago, the National Society of Art Directors and chairman of the NSAD’s International Relations Committee. He also earned a Life Time Achievement Award from Air Force JROTC Chapter IL-961.

Ulrich is buried at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Indiana. Memorial donations can be made to St. John’s Lutheran School in La Grange.