Local businessman and philanthropist dies at age 85

Richard Joseph Nogaj (Dick), age 85, of Wheaton, Illinois, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, December 22, 2023, with his beloved wife at his side.

In 1975, Dick Nogaj founded RJN Group, a professional civil and environmental engineering consulting and design firm serving municipalities across the country. In 1978, Dick created CASS WORKS, an innovative and cutting edge computer software program that revolutionized the maintenance and management needs of municipal water infrastructure systems. Dick and his engineers authored and presented technical papers at industry conventions, and this is still an important segment of company participation. He based his engineering firm on values of integrity and quality performance. Dick told his employees to “promise less and deliver more.” The company motto was “We’ll find a way.”

Dick Nogaj sold his firm to the employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1995. RJN Group has been listed for decades in the “TOP 500” consulting and design engineering firms nationwide. Dick often expressed his gratitude to the new employee-owners for their achievements and the preservation of his lasting legacy.

Just prior to the sale of his firm, Dick founded The RJN Foundation to draw employees together, boost morale, and make the communities where RJN Group does business a better place to live. The RJN Foundation has donated $921,000 to local, national and international not-for-profit organizations including 159 civil and environmental engineering scholarships at 10 colleges and universities nationwide.

Richard Nogaj was a true societal change advocate establishing many antipoverty projects using innovative, creative approaches. He advocated for civil rights and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Chicago in 1968. Dick and a small group of like-minded people including the Franciscan Sisters secured zoning in Wheaton in 1978 for construction of Marian Park. Dick was a founding member of the Religious Education Community (REC) in Wheaton, where Dick and Florence enjoyed a strong spiritual life and formed life-long friendships.

Dick and Florence Nogaj are the founders of several not-for-profit programs including DuPage Habitat for Humanity in Wheaton, Illinois (1995). DuPage HFH has assisted more than 200 families. In Immokalee, Florida they founded Harvest for Humanity and the Jubilation Development Corporation to provide an opportunity for affordable home ownership to 89 families. Dick was a popular public speaker on affordable workforce housing, immigration reform, and the Fair Food Movement. Dick was elected a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and has received multiple civic awards and presented papers on social justice. Dick is the author of Don’t Retire, Get Inspired, a memoir of the second half of his life.

A memorial service celebrating the extraordinary life of Dick Nogaj will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10:00 am at the Drake Oak Brook, 2301 York Road, Oak Brook, IL 60532, with a luncheon immediately following the service.