Fran Barenbrugge
Class of 1944Alumni Recognition Award, 2005
Fran Barenbrugge graduated from Naperville Community High School with the class of 1944. While in high school Fran was a very involved student. He was an athlete on both the football and basketball teams, earning varsity letters in 1943 and ’44. Fran didn’t stop with sports. He participated in the Student Government as a representative in 1944, and he was one of the leads in the school plays his junior and senior years. Fran also played the trombone in both the high school and city bands.
After graduating from Naperville Community High School, Fran Barenbrugge attended Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, in 1944 and 1945. Then Fran went to the University of Illinois in 1946, graduating with honors in 1949. After graduating from U of I, Fran began working at The DuPage Precision Products in Naperville. In 1961 he started working at IBM Corp. While working for IBM he received numerous sales awards and was the District Director at the IBM 100% Club.
On top of his career accomplishments, Fran was also very involved in his community. He was the President of the Holy Name Society at Sts. Peter and Paul Church. Fran also coached Little League Baseball and Naperville Youth Football. In 1951 Fran married Cindy Dillon and they had five sons: Brad, Craig, Scott, Dirk, and Todd all of whom graduated from Naperville Central High School and are still currently living in Naperville. In 1968, Fran was the Booster Club President at NCHS. Fran is also very proud of his eight grandchildren whom have graduated or still attend Naperville Central High School. When Fran was asked what his favorite high school memory was, he shared about the “Noontime Dances”. He would race home for lunch and then get back to school for dancing before his first afternoon class.
MR. BARENBRUGGE'S MESSAGE TO STUDENTS: “Don’t be content with being average. Average is as close to the bottom as it is to the top”, also “Take time to pray, it is the greatest power on earth.”
