(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Beyond the sports world, Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz-- who died Tuesday at the age of 70 -- was known for his generosity in supporting the city's cultural institutions, including the Field Museum.
“He was fascinated with how museums tell stories and you could always get him engaged with a good narrative,” Julian Siggers, Field Museum president and CEO, told WBBM Newsradio on Wednesday.
He says Wirtz was an active member of the Field's Board of Trustees since 2009 and served as chair of the board for the last two and a half years.
“He’s been such a strong supporter of the mission of the Field Museum -- the mission to connect all of us to the natural world and each other,” Siggers said. “He really embraced the science that was going on at the museum, so we shall miss him dreadfully.”
He said Wirtz was one of the most generous donors in the museum's history. In the coming months, Siggers said, the Field will find a way to commemorate Wirtz.
Along these same lines, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who knew the sports and liquor distribution magnate for more than two decades, praised Wirtz as a person who was giving of his time.
"He was a person that you could call up, and he would try to help in anything that you asked him to do -- anything," the governor said.
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