John Platts

John H. Platts, 87, of Naples, Florida and Glen Ellyn, Illinois, passed away Sunday, July 31, 2005 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois following a short illness. Private family services will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Boy Scouts of America. Local arrangements are entrusted to Kerley-Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, St. Joseph. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Mr. Platts was born November 19, 1917 in Detroit, Michigan to Ralph & Mary (Snyder) Platts. John attained the rank of Eagle Scout as a young teenager and accompanied his troop to Washington, D.C. to meet President Hoover. He often credited his work ethic and moral foundation to the Boy Scouts. John began his career at the 1900 Corporation, Whirlpool?s predecessor company, in 1941 as an assemblyman on the wringer-washer line. He quickly moved into management, eventually becoming manager of laundry sales to Sears Roebuck & Co. before being promoted to general manager of the Evansville, Indiana Division. John was made a Vice-President in 1959 and a year later became Vice-President of the refrigeration group. John became President and joined the Board of Directors in 1962. He remained President until becoming Chairman and CEO in 1971. John remained on the board until 1988, six years after his retirement from Whirlpool. In addition to his work with Whirlpool, John served on the boards of Clark Equipment, Sears Bank and Trust, and the Shell Oil Corporation. John was named Wall Street Transcript?s ?Best Chief Executive Officer? in the home appliance industry in 1980 & 1981. John was a former member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Joseph; and a member of the Point O?Woods in Benton Harbor and the Union Leaague Club in Chicago. Mr. Platts was married on November 24, 1940 in St. Joseph to Dorothea ?Dottie? Sleeper. They were married for 54 years before her passing in 1995. He was also preceded in death by his brother Harold ?Bob? Platts in 2004. John is survived by his three daughters, Pamela (Kevin) Illia, and Polly (William) Aldrich, both of Glen Ellyn, IL and Melissa Knight of Utica, Kentucky; and three grandchildren, John Colin Illia and Peter and Caroline Aldrich.