Phyllis Sutker, 82; top broker in trucking industry

By Ana Mendieta

Phyllis Sutker was a pioneer in real estate who didn't believe in retirement.

Mrs. Sutker, one of the first women to become a leading real estate broker in the trucking industry, died of a stroke on her way to work Monday. She was 82. "She was the only woman in her expertise as far as building and selling truck terminals in the U.S. You could not park a semi anywhere in the U.S. without my mother knowing about it," said her daughter Kim Sutker.

Born in Chicago, Mrs. Sutker grew up on the West Side. She graduated from Crane High School, where she met her husband, Melvin, now a retired labor relations scholar.

Mrs. Sutker started her professional career as a secretary. She later took a correspondence course in law and worked for the city's Department of Planning in the 1950s and 1960s, her daughter said.

But her experience in the trucking real estate industry came from working for the late real estate developer Harry F. Chaddick, who owned First American Realty Co.

Starting as a secretary, Mrs. Sutker later became a broker and ended up as president of the company, a position she occupied at the time of her death. The company is now a division of Concord Development Corp.

Mrs. Sutker earned a national reputation for her knowledge of trucking facilities and related transportation properties and ended up dominating the Chicago freight terminal market, her family and colleagues said.  She was the first woman ever admitted to the Chicago Traffic Club and a member of the Illinois Transportation Association. Mrs. Sutker was also considered an authority in the deregulation of the trucking industry during the 1980s.

"Everyone who did business with her knew she was the best at what she did, and she was incredibly successful at it," said Wayne Moretti, president of Concord, in a written statement.  Mrs. Sutker also was versed in the stock market and loved to work in her garden and walk along the lake near her home in Evanston, her daughter said.

She was an art collector and a contributor to the Teachers' Association for Outdoor & Adventure Education, a California-based nonprofit organization aimed at increasing youth access to the outdoors.

Survivors also include her son Hal, brother Phillip Weinstein, and four grandchildren.  A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Piser Weinstein Menorah Chapels, 5206 N. Broadway.