Frederick "Eric" Hugh Powell, III

Frederick H. Powell, III (Eric), 59, of Chicago, Illinois, passed away peacefully on September 9, 2026, with his devoted wife, Margaret, at his side. Eric was born in Colorado to Rick and Mary Powell. He spent his formative years in Rockford, Illinois, where he graduated from Guilford High School in 1985. He went to Indiana University, pledged Phi Delta Theta, and graduated in 1989 with a degree in Public Affairs.  From there, he embarked on a career in country club management, moving from Hyatt Schaumburg to Hyatt Regency Chicago to private clubs around the Chicagoland area and Benton Harbor, Michigan.

 

Eric lived a very full life while managing Multiple Sclerosis for over 30 years. He spent many of those years as a Peer Support Volunteer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In hindsight, he said this was a turning point in his life in that it made him a better, more appreciative person. 

 

After meeting in middle school and attending high school together, it was a comment on a Facebook post brought them together. On July 12, 2015, Eric married the love of his life, Margaret (Gilmore) Powell, and they shared 11 years together. It is still remembered as "a really good day".

 

Eric is survived by his wife, Margaret; his parents; his sister Meredith Woodrow (Martin); and his three nephews, Gregory, Patrick, and Josh.

 

He lives on with his donations to Gift of Hope.

 

And as Eric would not want his life to be remembered as a sterile resume…he had his pilot's license, skydived, water and snow skied, snowmobiled, sailed, fished and golfed.

 

Eric loved:

 

Oreos and only the seasonal Reese’s peanut butter cups

Giordano’s deep dish, sausage and spinach

Sting and Chris Botti

Listening to the Obama books on Audible

Riding down Michigan Avenue and listening to all the different languages

Chicago Med, Fire, PD; The West Wing (especially “The Midterms” Bartlet Bible Lesson)

Chicago Bears, Indiana University Football

Jeopardy, The View, Meet the Press and 60 Minutes (before the “change”)

Shawshank, The Green Mile, and yes, even Deadpool.

Disabled seating views at theater events

Being a caller with Jim Cramer’s Mad Money – TWICE

Our view of the city from home

Banging his wedding ring on the hospital bed guardrail to get his wife’s attention

Upgrading to the Staple’s “HELP” button once that got too difficult

Getting bathed by the most nurses while in the hospital

The fact that random strangers were always there to help him in an emergency situation

Getting others to gang up with him to tease his wife

Telling people he was looking forward to tomorrow as he got better and better looking every day.

 

Eric disliked:

 

Cars blocking ramps

Anything with pumpkin or cinnamon

The fact that he never learned to play the piano

Watching the Bears lose to the Packers

Waiting for ANYTHING (“Do it Now”)

Temperatures above 76 degrees

“People”. (He was truly a homebody at heart)

Not being included because of his disability

And most of all being told he was someone’s inspiration. He was just living the life he was given, and hated the feeling of "less than"

 

One of the things he was most proud of was all the things we got to do in the last 14 years. Plenty of photos on the Momentos tab. You can click on individual photos for descriptions, or start at the beginning and scroll thru to see all.

 

There will always be way too many stories to tell.

 

The Memento section can be a bit tricky.

 

Go to the Memento section to see Eric’s life in photos. At the end of each section, you will have the opportunity to “View More” to expand that folders contents.

 

Some photos have commentary. Easiest to view on a computer. Click the first picture to open and scroll through. Without clicking on the photo, no commentary will be available.

 

On a phone, when opening a photo, you may have to scroll down a bit to see the text.

 

The great thing about this Memento section is that you can also comment on the photos.

 

You can post “as Guest” at the bottom of the Memorial page. (Scroll WAY down on this page to the "Tribute" section.

 

Feel free to share any photos in your note. Would love to add to Eric’s story.