Martin Johannes Skrotzki

Martin Johannes Skrotzki, born on August 9, 1941, passed away peacefully at 84 years of age on November 30, 2025 in Bartlett, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Eva-Maria, and children Hella (Rick) and Tim (Jenine), grandchildren Lukas, Bella, Sophia, and Alex, as well as his sister Rosemarie, brother Hans-Juergen (Marlies), sister-in-law Ulla…and his many nieces and nephews and extended family in Germany. He was preceded in death by his father Emil, his mother Anna, and his siblings Manfred, Joachim, and Charlotte.
Martin was born in Gumbinnen (Eastern Prussia) in 1941, his family was displaced after World War II, and he grew up with his five siblings in Kiel, Germany near the Baltic Sea where his life-long hobby of fishing began. After becoming an upholsterer in Germany, in 1964, he followed his best friend Hans Johannsen to Chicago. Hans and Martin, friends for over 70 years, fished together, worked together, and became business partners who opened and built Trio Swiss, a successful secondary precision machine shop which they operated for 44 years. Many called Martin a genius for his vision and ability to build machines which produced the parts needed for their prestigious customers. Martin met his wife Eva in Chicago in 1969 where he wooed her with his love, calm demeanor, kindness and his 1967 convertible Mustang. After they wed in 1970, he enjoyed raising his children in Streamwood, Illinois alongside Eva, and together they spent a lot of time travelling back to Germany to see family, camping with friends, taking walks and hikes in nearby parks and forest preserves, and caring for their home and garden. He thoroughly loved his four grandchildren, and they were often together on weekends and for holidays, birthdays, and travels together. Outside of travels to Germany, he and Eva and his family also enjoyed many wonderful trips around the U.S. as well as to his brother’s vacation home on the coast of Croatia. He continued his passion for fishing his entire life spending many weekends at his favorite spots on Lake Wisconsin, and also on Lake Michigan and travelling to Oregon and Mexico for fishing adventures. After suffering a stroke in 2019, with the great care and dedication of his wife Eva, he was able to spend his remaining years in Bartlett in his cherished home, going outside to delight in his garden, the flowers, the birds, and taking part in many family gatherings under the big oak tree in their yard. He will be dearly missed by his loving family as well as many dear friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025 from 11:00 am until time of Memorial Service at 1:15 pm at Countryside Funeral Home & Crematory, 950 S. Bartlett Rd. Bartlett, IL 60103. For information, please contact Countryside Funeral Home, 630-289-7575.