Naperville man played Santa to many

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

When William Lindblom walked through a store or a mall, children stopped in their tracks, eyes opened wide, staring in amazement.

With his flowing white whiskers, Lindblom was the spitting image of Santa Claus.

Christopher Lindblom used to enjoy seeing the kids react to his dad.

“When we would go out shopping around Christmas, the little kids over at Fox Valley mall would look,” he said. “He got in the habit of looking out the side of his eye and saying ‘See? I’m really watching.’”

Lindblom, 86, died Feb. 8 at St. Patrick’s Residence in Naperville. He was born Jan. 18, 1925 in Detroit.

His obituary, which ran in the Feb. 9 issue of The Naperville Sun, included a picture of him in his Santa costume.

According to his two sons, Lindblom’s association with Santa Claus was a special part of his life. He donned the red suit at family gatherings to the delight of his grandchildren. He portrayed Santa for Scout groups. But during the late 1980s, he got the chance to play Santa professionally. A cola company was sponsoring a Santa Claus in several Cub Food Stores in the Chicago area at the time. Lindblom, an almost daily customer at the store then located on Aurora Avenue, was asked if he wanted the job.

He did. For a few years, Lindblom sat on a chair fashioned out of cases of the cola and talked to countless children throughout the holiday season. He took his role so seriously that he learned how to say Merry Christmas and other phrases in several languages, just like actor Edmund Gwenn’s Santa did in the movie classic “Miracle on 34th Street.”

“It was just those little touches like that,” Christopher said. “When my dad was performing Santa, he would do the little things to make the kids a little bit more comfortable. ... He embraced the spirit of all that, the kindness of that and the lovingness.”

Bill Lindblom said his father loved people and playing Santa was just one of the way he gave back to others.

“He loved to walk through supermarkets,” Bill said. “Going on shopping trips with him was always an adventure because he knew everybody in Naperville. It was more like going to see family than picking up a few groceries. He would always ask little kids if they were being good.”

Lindblom grew up in Detroit and served with the U.S. Army during World War II. He was an electrician with the IBEW Local #58 for 23 years and later worked for Michigan Bell and Ameritech Services. After his retirement, he volunteered with the Telephone Pioneers bringing books to children with special needs and visited patients at veterans hospitals.

“Even out of the red suit, he was a very giving man,” Christopher said.

An elder at and charter member of Word of Life Lutheran Church in Naperville, Lindblom helped found three Lutheran congregations. He also was an avid gardener and painter.

In addition to his two sons, survivors include his wife, Barbara, and five grandchildren.

Funeral services were held last week.