Chicago interment planned for Margery and Charles Barancik, who donated millions to many causes

A private interment is planned Thursday in Chicago for philanthropists Margery and Charles Barancik, who died after a car accident Wednesday near their Florida home.

In 2014 they founded the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, which has dispensed $55 million, primarily to causes and cultural institutions in Chicago and Florida.

They grew up in Hyde Park two blocks apart. She attended the Faulkner School for Girls at 47th and Dorchester and Smith College. She went on to study the teaching of hearing-impaired students at Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree.

He went to Hyde Park High School, where his math mentor was Beulah Shoesmith, a teacher who had a Chicago grade school named in her honor. “She was an inspiration,” said Deb Hanson, who works for the Barancik family. Young Chuck was president of the school Pythagorean Society and once took second place in a citywide math contest, relatives said.

“Numbers were music to him,” said Hanson.

After they married, they raised three children in Glencoe and then moved to Northbrook. Mr. Barancik acquired numerous industrial manufacturing companies, some specializing in safety containers for hazardous and flammable materials.

They became snowbirds 30 years ago but returned to Northbrook from May through October. “I haven’t seen snow in 20 years, and that’s just fine,” he once told Sarasota magazine.

Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation

On Wednesday evening, Mr. Barancik, 91, left their home on Longboat Key and drove onto a nearby road. A marked patrol vehicle responding to a call collided with his Tesla, according to the Town of Longboat Key Police Department.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mrs. Barancik, 83, died of her injuries Thursday at Sarasota Medical Center. The officer involved in the accident went to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The collision was under investigation, according to police. A memorial service was held Thursday in Sarasota.

“Until the announcement of their foundation in 2015, even their closest friends had no idea of the extent of their wealth,” said Teri Hansen, president and CEO of the foundation. “No boats, no flashy houses. They travelled commercial” on airlines.

“They cared deeply about helping others,” Hansen said.

The Baranciks donated money to many causes, including All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota, the American Jewish Committee, the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Chicago Community Trust, the Chicago Lighthouse for the visually impaired, Jewish Family & Children’s Services in Sarasota, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Ravinia Festival.

They also supported a long-running study of dolphins in Sarasota Bay, according to Hansen.

She was the daughter of Louis Lippa, operator of Acme Smelting and president of the National Association of Recycling Industries. Two months after she met her future husband, they became engaged. Because Mr. Barancik first proposed by telephone, she kept him waiting until he proposed a second time, according to their son Steve. They married in 1960 at Chicago’s Sheraton-Blackstone Hotel.

Mr. Barancik’s father, Dr. Henry Barancik, ran a hospital division in France during World War I and was a chief of staff at Jackson Park Hospital and South Chicago Hospital.

Mr. Barancik started out as a CPA before acquiring companies that included Justrite in downstate Mattoon, the Mayline Company of Sheboygan, Associated Sprinkler of Greensboro and Hamilton Industries.

“He didn’t flip them. He grew them,” said Hanson.

In a 2018 interview with Sarasota magazine, Mr. Barancik outlined his philosophy. “I wasn’t ever looking for the last dollar. We compensated our officers handsomely,” he said. “And I’m not a fist pounder. If we have a problem, we’ll talk about it. Very rarely did I have to let somebody go. I don’t think anybody’s ever quit me.”

And, he said, “The children, Margie and I were all shareholders of our companies. But I wanted to give an incentive [to employees] because a lot of these things I couldn’t run myself. So, we established a program of dedicating 25 percent of each company’s pretax profits to be allocated to profit sharing plans and bonuses. In the event of a sale, the officers got 20 percent of a gain. Why? I loved these people. They were beating their brains out for me.”

The Baranciks enjoyed tennis and bridge, photo safaris in Africa, and Tonelli’s restaurant in Northbrook.

In Sarasota, “He played tennis three times a week with younger tennis buddies and went to the gym two times a week,” his son said.

They are survived by their sons Steve and Scott, daughter Wendy Roseth and four granddaughters. Mr. Barancik is also survived by his sister Shirley Lang and brothers Maury and Richard Barancik, a Chicago architect and developer.