Rudolph “Rudy” Frost Zdenahlik was born in 1939 to Rudolf and Dorothy (née Larsen) Zdenahlik at West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Illinois. As a resident of Chicago, Rudy attended Lane Technical High School where he excelled in diving. Rudy, his parents and brother Donald subsequently moved to Northbrook, Illinois where he graduated from Glenbrook High School in 1957. In 1962, Rudy married Virginia “Ginny” Ann Meter of Northbrook. He began working at the U.S. Postal Service and then launched his law enforcement career at Wilmette Police Department where he was a rescue diver. Later, Rudy joined Northbrook Police Department where he served for 23 years. He was a Patrolman, Sergeant and founding member of the Northbrook Police Association, as well as a founding member of the Citizen Emergency Response Unit (CERU.) Rudy was a Firearms Range Officer and an expert marksman receiving numerous national awards. He rose to Detective and ultimately Commander of the Investigative Unit where he oversaw many high profile cases. In the early 1980’s, Rudy and Ginny retired to Door County, Wisconsin where they enjoyed 35 years of bliss. During that time, Rudy expressed his artistic creativity through carving wooden decoys and whales' teeth. Over the years, he loved boating and fishing for salmon off the shores of Washington Island on Lake Michigan with Ginny and his three children, Jeffrey, Julie and Lorne. He also had a lifelong passion for hunting deer and birds. In 2020, Rudy and Ginny returned to Northbrook where he continued to enjoy watching his beloved Green Bay Packers. He is dearly missed by his family, including his wife Ginny, brother Donald, sister-in-law Sandy, son Jeffrey, granddaughters Lucia and Amilia, daughter Julie Roberts, son-in-law Bennett Roberts, son Lorne, daughter-in-law Tammia, grandsons Tyler and Landon and numerous family and friends whom he valued their love above all. Visitation will be held Friday, January 7 from 3 to 7 pm at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road, Glenview. Interment private at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Northbrook. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to American Heart Association, 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60606
