Walter Thomas Kadi

Walter Kadi was born on December 8, 1919 in Milwaukee, WI, an only child. His parents had both been born in Austria/Croatia. His father was working as a laborer in a machine shop when Walter was born; by 1930 he was a machinist and Walter's mother owned a small grocery. In 1938, Walter's father bought a gas station which he operated until his death in 1943.

Walter graduated from Bay View High School in Milwaukee in 1938 where he was a member of both the science and art clubs, and also a member of the stage crew for dramatic productions. In 1940 he was working as a circulation clerk at a newspaper, but by the time he registered for the draft, on July 1, 1941, he was working as a promotional/advertising artist for William R. Pate Co., a small Milwaukee-based oil company founded in 1933.

In April of 1942 he married Dorothy Reiff, and he enlisted on November 10 of that year. His art skills got him assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and he saw service in Europe during the war. He was discharged on October 21, 1945 with the rank of SGT, returned home to Milwaukee, and went back to Pate Oil.

After the war, Walter and Dorothy became the parents of two daughters: Kathryn and Melanie, and Walter worked his way up at Pate Oil. By 1951 he was advertising manager at Pate, and in 1956 he was promoted to advertising and merchandising manager. Pate was acquired by Standard Oil in 1956 and in 1958 Walter was also given the responsibility of advertising manager for Oklahoma Oil in Chicago—another Standard Oil Company.

Eventually the family moved to Naperville, IL, a Chicago suburb. Walter continued to work in advertising for Standard Oil, which eventually became Exxon. In 1968 they moved to Houston, TX with the company.

Two years after their arrival in Houston, Walter's wife died of cancer. Walter remarried in 1974 to another Dorothy—Dorothy Huebotter McMillan. Dorothy also worked at Exxon; her first husband had died in World War II, and she was the mother of William McMillan III.

Walter died of a massive heart attack in Houston on April 20, 1978; he is buried at Earthman Resthaven Cemetery in Houston.

Photos

1938 high school yearbook (see below)

Sources:

1920 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/94024751:6061?tid=&pid=&queryId=726f504d2f432b55c2a5acf4b5ea4a32&_phsrc=SdN6&_phstart=successSource

1930 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/58706259:6224?ssrc=pt&tid=267757&pid=170039806911

1938 high school yearbook

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/447087285:1265?tid=&pid=&queryId=6fcddb5d3a8e022c883cf5ddfe524929&_phsrc=SdN1&_phstart=successSource

1940 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/76670237:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=6fcddb5d3a8e022c883cf5ddfe524929&_phsrc=SdN4&_phstart=successSource

1941 draft card

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/198646363:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=801841f7445f8dceb789ffc7db39286f&_phsrc=SdN17&_phstart=successSource

1942 enlistment record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8939&h=6481528&tid=&pid=&queryId=726f504d2f432b55c2a5acf4b5ea4a32&usePUB=true&_phsrc=SdN3&_phstart=successSource

1943 father's obituary

https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:119BAA7547AD9B50@GB3NEWS-16EB1B992CC58371@2430886-16E9501325FAC273@13-16E9501325FAC273@?h=1&fname=walter%20&lname=kadi&fullname=&kwinc=&kwexc=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=ofqhmpjripjqkbcdchykzswrmxvdkjgv_wma-gateway008_1630959198668

1955 Milwaukee city directory

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/799119965:2469?tid=&pid=&queryId=5f98508606473732d41c9c32c89397b5&_phsrc=SdN12&_phstart=successSource

1956 article in the Milwaukee Journal (WI) re his promotion

https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A1477BBDEA50EB75C%40GB3NEWS-15A39E78B16C9792%402435697-15A3582E2A624816%4011-15A3582E2A624816%40?h=12&fname=walter%20t&lname=kadi&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=wlgmgqflhwqpuxsugkmsynwmthxcfomk_wma-gateway013_1630958601409

1958 article in the Milwaukee Journal (WI) re his promotion

https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:1477BBDEA50EB75C@GB3NEWS-15A161F1C0135CC7@2436395-15A161B3ABA51F2A@50-15A161B3ABA51F2A@?h=6&fname=walter%20t&lname=kadi&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=wlgmgqflhwqpuxsugkmsynwmthxcfomk_wma-gateway013_1630958601409

1958 article in the Chicago Daily News (IL) re his work history

https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:14CF18CB9DEFE09F@GB3NEWS-16F4A8E9AAF3A482@2436401-16F3D67F917F482A@41-16F3D67F917F482A@?h=10&fname=walter%20t&lname=kadi&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=wlgmgqflhwqpuxsugkmsynwmthxcfomk_wma-gateway013_1630958601409

1971 1st wife's death certificate

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/508860:2272?tid=&pid=&queryId=c611dbb879cf7a84d9c4ebad3b7e0f64&_phsrc=iOK8&_phstart=successSource

1974 2nd marriage record

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2126830:1100?ssrc=pt&tid=267757&pid=170039806911

1978 Texas death certificate

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/910764:2272?ssrc=pt&tid=267757&pid=170039806911

1978 VA death record

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6098768:2441?ssrc=pt&tid=267757&pid=170039806911

1978 Find a Grave record

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135380039/walter-t-kadi

1978 Social Security applications and claims index

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/27535540:60901?ssrc=pt&tid=267757&pid=170039806911

1978 newspaper obituary in ancestry family tree

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/47821286/person/13856107697/media/f20f1ae4-d4f8-45ac-a54f-4437d474e0d9