Book Club December 1

 About a dozen members of the Book Club convened on Zoom to discuss Angle of Repose, a long, complex novel dealing with a marriage and the struggles of an engineer and an artist in the harsh environment of the western states.  Some found it “depressing” or even “confusing.” while others admired Stegner’s skills in structure and style, finding his characters sympathetic and the narrative engaging.  Some of these differences centered on Stegner’s use of a limited narrator, Lyman Ward, who researches and recounts the life of his grandmother Susan; especially in view of Lyman’s strong opinions and the dream fantasy at the end of the novel, we might distrust some of his judgments.  Readers’ responses to Susan ranged from impatience with her social snobbery and her decision to marry Oliver Ward (a “consolation prize?”) to sympathetic admiration for her strength and courage in the difficult circumstances of western life.  Lyman views her sympathetically but never defends or excuses her possible involvement with Frank; he is notably evasive about the nature of their relationship and perhaps also condescending towards her work as an artist.

 Several readers were interested in Stegner’s use of the Foote family letters and noted that many letters were used almost verbatim; perhaps these added to the sense of history, of real life, in the novel.  There was general agreement that Stegner’s narrative style was eloquent, particularly in rendering the visual splendor and the harsh reality of life in the western states.   One reader added that the novel’s treatment of life in the small town and cities of Idaho and California revealed that the exploration and settlement of the West was not only the work of brave individualists, but was controlled and exploited by large Eastern corporations and unscrupulous lawyers and investors—like the lawyer who cheats Oliver out of a homestead.  Altogether, the novel’s scope and style help to explain Stegner’s literary awards and staying power, even if some readers “admired rather than loved” the novel.  Despite its multiple stories,  Angle of Repose makes a determined march towards tragedy; after Agnes’s death Oliver and Susan can never recover their trust and happiness, and even their son appears withdrawn and cold.  One reader pointed out that Lyman’s final lines consider forgiveness, something greater than his grandfather was capable of, and thus end the novel with the possibility of redemption or healing.

Our next book will be John LeCarre's memoir The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories of my Life. Next meeting willbe Wednesday, February 2, still on Zoom. Discussion starts at 11 am, with link open at 10:30 for log on and chat. Please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough with any questions.

In Memoriam - Frank Sherman

 OCTOBER 4, 1927 – NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Frank Sherman passed away November 22, 2021, at home attended by his wife, Barbara, daughter, Emily, and grandson, Ian Koller.

Frank Eugene Sherman was born October 4, 1927 in Lakeview Michigan. His childhood was spent in Lakeview until the Great Depression forced his parents to place him in an orphanage in Ohio. He moved to Chicago and lived on his own at age 16. Frank enlisted in the Army in January 1946, serving until discharged June 22, 1947. He attended the University of California at Berkeley on the GI bill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He continued at Berkeley to earn a PhD in English Literature. While in graduate school, Frank met and married Barbara Hope. They had two daughters, Celia and Emily. His teaching career began at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, continued at Roosevelt College, and DePaul University, from which he retired as Professor Emeritus of American Literature in 1987.

Frank's enthusiasm for education transcended his career. He was an early supporter and proselytizer for KPFA, the pioneering Bay Area radio station. He took his family for a European tour for most of 1965. He mentored many student groups on trips to England and Europe. Frank also enjoyed travelling on his own or with Barbara, primarily to London, Paris, Vienna, and Bayreuth. During retirement, he continued his dedication to, and support of, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and local theater. Chicago audiences and his many friends in the Arts community will be a little poorer because of his absence.

Frank is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughters, Celia Roe and Emily Sherman; grandchildren: Francesca Hugueny, Alexander Roe, and Laurel and Ian Koller; and great-granddaughter, Beatrice Hugueny.

Memorial donations in Frank’s name may be made to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, Development Department, 220 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60604 or at: https://cso.org/support/make-a-gift/

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Source: Neptune Society: https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/rolling-meadows-il/frank-sherman-10458924

Photo credit: Elaine Beaudoin

Book Club October 6

A group of about a dozen readers met to discuss Stephen Johnson's The Ghost Map. We found many areas of interest in Johnson’s account of John Snow’s efforts to pinpoint the causes of a cholera epidemic in 19^th century London.  One obvious and widely shared response was a horrified awareness of the limits of 19^th century sanitation and the dangers it posed to public health.  Johnson also provided a wealth of accompanying detail on living conditions and popular ideas; in fact, some readers found the second half of the book overloaded with “scattershot” detail that interrupted the narrative. Others appreciated Johnson’s analysis of issues, such as his lively account of a cholera infection or his explanation of popular resistance to Snow’s claims because of the belief in miasma or poisoned air.   One reader noted that we might have learned more about the media and transmission of information in this society, while others recognized Snow’s vivid demonstration in his map of fatalities near the Broad Street pump.  Johnson also notes the persistent human tendency to blame the poor or lower classes for their own illnesses, as many believers in miasma did.  The linkage of illness to “weak morals” has been documented in other places as well; Johnson gives a good account of the social dimensions of public health issues.  We also discussed Johnson’s perhaps optimistic view of the possibilities of urban life; discoveries like Snow’s help to alleviate the risks of life in crowded urban areas, but public health efforts, as we know, face many challenges.

The next meeting,  December 1, will focus on a work of fiction.  The group selected Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose for this meeting.  As we agreed in August, our February meeting will discuss John LeCarre’s memoir The Pigeon Tunnel. We will continue to meet on Zoom in December and we eagerly welcome new members. The Zoom link will be sent prior to the meeting, we open the link at 10:30 with the discussion beginning at 11 am Central Standard time. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact either Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.

Book Club August 4

 About a dozen Book Club members met to discuss Britt Bennett’s novel The Vanishing Half, exchanging thoughts on a number of topics literary, historical, and social.  One reader noted at the start that the novel might well have been titled “Passing,” because its central characters were attempting to “pass” as members of another race or sex; in that reading, Stella and Rees are particularly important, “passing” by huge efforts in social behavior or even surgery, and their characters are developed in depth; but in another sense the entire town of Mallard, with its preference for light skin, attempts to pass as racially other.  Other readers commented that these transformations are also “vanishings” because old identities are left behind or disappear; and when Desiree flees from her abusive husband, she too vanishes, absorbed back into the town she left as a teenager.

These reflections led to a number of comments on the pervasive racism of American society and the traditional themes of American identity.  The inter-generational trauma of racism finds violent expression in the brutal murder of the twins’ father, for example, and helps to explain Stella’s fears of discovery and Kennedy’s unfocused resentments.  All the characters seem to be engaged in the traditional American quest to discover or shape a new identity, free from the constraints of the past, but all these quests are shaped by the stresses of racism and oppression. Still, a few characters, such as Jude or Earl, accomplish their goals and represent the strength and integrity possible within (and beyond) Black communities.

Some readers noted weaknesses in the novel’s structure or style; in an effort to cover a number of current issues and locations, Bennett sometimes leaves characters and situations undeveloped: Stella’s husband seems a stereotype, for instance, and Stella’s black neighbors might deserve more treatment.  On the whole, however, the novel raised important questions about current American culture and exposed the high costs of racism in America, whether to individuals or to the culture as a whole.

Our next book will be The Ghost Map by Stephen Johnson. We will meet on Wednesday, October 6, at 11 am Central Time, via zoom. The link will open at 10:30 to provide for some connecting time prior to the book discussion. If you have any questions, please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.

We enjoy catching up with our fellow retirees and we welcome new members to the group. These zoom meetings have provided a great way for us to connect virtually with local and distant DES members.

Sally Chappell - In Memoriam

 

Obituary: Sally Anderson Kitt Chappell, Ph.D. (1929–2021)

by Pauline Saliga, Kevin Harrington and Elaine Harrington | Aug 10, 2021

Sally A. Kitt Chappell thrived on community, humanistic ideas and independent initiatives. She spent much of her adult life pursuing and integrating all three. Her gift for friendship and building new communities was recognized by all who knew her, however slightly, but particularly through her creation of numerous reading groups. Her love for and engagement with ideas spanned her life from her first years at Mills College to her last days when she described her final visits with family and friends as surreal in a good way, like the plot of a Magic Realism masterpiece. Her love of independent initiatives revealed itself in the quality of her work as a gifted scholar, teacher, colleague and administrator, and in the key role she played to create the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled in 1997 to protect the rights of developmentally disabled individuals living in State Operated Developmental Centers in Illinois. In retirement she became even more prolific by publishing scholarly and popular books on ancient architecture and cultures, Chicago parks, poetry, children’s books, and a bibliomemoir on her ten favorite books that she read again and again. She also made time to master ikebana and watercolor.

Sally Anderson was born in Topeka, Kansas, 27 June 1929, the first child of William Elbert Anderson, owner of a wholesale grocery business, and Elinor Tanke Anderson. In her 2009 book, Words Work, Sally Chappell described her birth as “a lucky start, for my father was a big-hearted, sensitive man and my mother a poet. She loved to read poetry aloud at bedtime and I am sure she planted the seeds of a love of meter and rhyme in me that would grow over the years.”

Even as a young person, she loved both the natural and the built worlds. She developed an early engagement with nature while spending summers with her Aunt Dorothy in Port Clinton, Ohio, a popular vacation spot on the shoreline of Lake Erie. She also was curious about architecture at an early age, and she long remembered Topeka High School, designed by alums, Thomas Williamson, Ted Griest, and Linus Burr Smith and opened in 1931, as being “a very beautiful building.” 

After her family encouraged her to leave Topeka for college, Anderson first attended Mills College in Oakland (1946–1948) then transferred to Smith College (1948–1950) where she earned a B.A. in political science. There she was introduced to her future husband, Vere Claiborne Chappell, by the latter’s sister who also attended Smith College. Post-college Anderson took a grand tour of Europe to see art and architecture first-hand. While there she also trained as a German interpreter. Sally Anderson and Vere Chappell married and moved to New Haven where Vere earned his Ph.D. in philosophy, and their first two children, Jennifer and Jonathan, were born. When Vere accepted a teaching post at University of Chicago, the couple moved to Chicago and had a third child, David. It was at University of Chicago that Sally Chappell began working on an M.A. in 1957 with Dr. Earl Rosenthal, historian of Renaissance art and architecture. She completed her M.A. in 1962. During the same period Sally and Vere Chappell divorced, and Sally reared their three children alone while teaching at Kendall College in Evanston and later at Mundelein College in Chicago. From 1965 to 1968 Sally Chappell attended graduate school at Northwestern University where she worked with Dr. Carl Condit, a historian of architecture and urbanism who wrote pioneering books on the history of Chicago architecture, particularly skyscrapers. Condit’s wife, Isabel, was a legendary peace activist in Chicago, and Isabel’s activism was as important to Sally as Carl’s scholarship. Under Carl Condit’s influence, Chappell became immersed in the history of both world and Chicago architecture, and she published articles on Chicago and architects Mies van der Rohe and Francis Barry Byrne in the Prairie School Review and New City. Her Ph.D. thesis was a monographic study on Prairie School architect Francis Barry Byrne.

Dr. Sally Chappell’s teaching career began in earnest in 1968 in the Department of Art at DePaul University where she began as an assistant professor who taught both general education art history survey classes to a great many first-generation students and more specialized courses focusing on art, architecture and urbanism to art majors. Although not particularly religious herself, she enthusiastically adopted the mission of St. Vincent de Paul for the education of children in the age of urbanization and industrialization, and Chappell was soon promoted to associate and then full professor.  

Chappell’s students remember her as a master of engagement because she started every class with a five-minute discussion about life or current events. She would ask students for their opinions and make everyone feel that their comments were taken seriously, much to their amazement. She considered these discussions life lessons and to this day her students cherish all the critical-thinking skills she helped them develop. Back in the classroom, having successfully broken down the social barrier between professor and students, she continued with the class content, using the Socratic method to extend the dialog and make the class a meeting of minds. Her students loved her, not just for what she taught them, but for the authentic concern and respect she showed them. As a former student, Fr. Ed Udovic, C.M., Ph.D. recently wrote, “I had never before had a teacher like Sally. Her passion swept the class up in an exciting embrace, and pushed us forward not just to see, but to understand, appreciate, question, and envision…Her classes helped form me as a historian, and nurtured my desire to do doctoral studies and teach.” In recognition of her transformative teaching style and leadership, in 1990 DePaul University presented Sally with two of the most prestigious awards that the university bestows on their professoriate: the Courtelyou-Lowery Award for Excellence in Teaching and Collegiality and the Sears Roebuck Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership.

During her years at DePaul, Chappell delivered many scholarly and public talks on a wide variety of topics focusing on buildings, engineering, urban planning, and landscapes with the same charisma that she brought to the classroom. She also published on those topics in prestigious publications including Art Journal, Inland Architect, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Threshold, the Chicago Architectural Journal, and the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects. 

In the late 1970s and 1980s Chappell expanded the scope of her work to serve three communities-—the public, her university, and fellow professionals. For the public, Chappell collaborated on exhibitions organized by two newly-established Departments of Architecture in Chicago museums. The first was at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1979 with curator John Zukowsky and architectural historian Robert Bruegmann on The Plan of Chicago: 1909–1979. The second was at the Chicago History Museum in 1982 with curator Ann Lorenz Van Zanten on Barry Byrne, John Lloyd Wright: Architecture and Design. For her university, Chappell helped secure two Title 6 grants to create an image library for teaching, and accepted important committee assignments including Graduate Studies, Freshman Seminar and Honors, and Chair of the Art Department (1977–1980). For her profession, Chappell served as president of the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (1981–1982), on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and for many years on the Board of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Also for her profession, in 1984 Chappell organized and directed a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, an eight-week master class for 25 college professors from across the U.S. The Institute, which focused on new views of Chicago architecture and urban planning, featured lectures by local professors including Robert Bruegmann, Carl Condit, Joan Draper, Kevin Harrington, David van Zanten and other experts from the area’s leading universities and cultural institutions, which at the time all had strong architectural history programs. The institutions included DePaul, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern, University of Illinois, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the Chicago History Museum and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Study in the Fine Arts. 

In 1977 Chappell entered a second, joyous marriage to psychiatrist Dr. Walter Kitt. They honeymooned in Europe, including Venice, a city that Chappell introduced to her students through passages from John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice and Frank Jewett Mather’s writings, which she read aloud in class. Walter and Sally enjoyed more than 44 years together. They continued to travel extensively for many years, including a notable 1990 trip to Japan through the DePaul Foreign Studies Program. While in Kyoto, by chance and innate charm, they became acquainted with a wealthy Japanese sight-seer who escorted them around Kyoto in a chauffeur-driven car to visit all the gardens and temples that were on Kitt Chappell’s well-researched itinerary. Sally and Walter also spent many winters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Sally, true to form, created another reading group, this time of poets. 

In 1987 Chappell was invited back to the Art Institute to write a catalog essay for a major exhibition that opened in Chicago and later traveled to Paris and Frankfurt, Chicago Architecture: 1872–1922: Birth of a Metropolis. Chappell’s essay for the catalog, “As If the Lights Were Always Shining: The Wrigley Building,” was the result of her multi-year year study on the Chicago architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White. Her research culminated in a monograph on the firm titled, Transforming Tradition: Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White (1912–1936) (University of Chicago Press, 1990). The book won the Association of American Publishers’ award for Most Outstanding Book on Architecture and Urban Planning in 1992.

After Chappell retired from teaching in 1994, she had time to pursue her passions, which included scholarly and popular writing, poetry writing, travel, book discussions, ikebana, and watercolor. Chappell published two books through University of Chicago Press in retirement, Cahokia: Mirror of the Cosmos (2002) and Chicago’s Urban Nature: A Guide to the City’s Architecture + Landscape (2007). In more recent years, Chappell discovered the joy of self-publishing on topics of special interest to her, including Words Work: Selected Writings of Sally A. Kitt Chappell (2009), the bibliomemoir The Ten Heavens of My Literary Paradise (2014), the children’s book Gloria Goldfish Loses a Loved One (2014), and many books of her poetry including Shards (2012), The Time the Stars Came Down (2016) and In Praise of Flesh: New and Selected Poems (2017). She also enjoyed appearing, and often winning, poetry slams at the Green Mill, where Marc Smith started the Uptown Poetry Slam in 1984.

Chappell was also a founder of seven or more book clubs over the years. One she called the Dante Club, or "the not-for-sissies book club," as she said sometimes. It has met for more than 25 years, often reading classics, but also new books of note as well. This includes one wonderful meeting and stay in Tuscany at La Foce, the estate of Iris Origo, where club members discussed Origo’s WWII memoir, War in Val D'Orcia. Other reading groups Chappell founded include George Eliot, Proust, Broch and Saramago.

In closing we leave you with two fond memories of Kitt Chappell from friends and colleagues. Karen Wilson, former Fine Arts Editor at University of Chicago Press, wrote, “I knew Sally as an exacting, broadly informed and self-directed scholar, as her publishing interests clearly indicate. But beyond informed and curious, Sally seemed always to be in possession of a world of talents. In our dealings and interactions, she showed an unmistakably indomitable and larger-than-life personality…” And from Sally and Walter’s close friends Kevin and Elaine Harrington, “We recall that Sally characterized herself as “ardent.” She said it reflecting on her approach at life, her fundamental character throughout life...She was ardent about ideas, art, architecture, cities, books, friends, Walter, her children and family, music, opera (her recall of arias by favorite singers, often heard years apart), teaching and learning.”

Sally A. Kitt Chappell died as she wished, peacefully at home and surrounded by family, on August 2, 2021, after a short illness. Kitt Chappell is survived by her husband of more than 44 years, Dr. Walter Kitt, daughter Jennifer, sons David and Jonathan (married to Mary McGee Chappell), and step-son Gregory Kitt. Kitt Chappell is survived by four loving grandchildren, David’s son, Antionio Chappell, and Jonathan and Mary’s three children, Jennifer (Chappell) Ringwald (married to Steven Ringwald), Lauren Chappell, and Ryan Chappell (married to Ciara Delaney). Kitt Chappell expressed sadness that one granddaughter, Katherine Chappell, predeceased her in an accidental death, and felt blessed with the birth of one great-grandchild, Ruby Katherine Ringwald (daughter of Jennifer and Steven Ringwald), to whom Sally dedicated her 2016 book of poetry, The Time The Stars Came Down. Kitt Chappell is also survived by four siblings: Georgana Tait, Ralph Allen, Glynn Anderson and John Anderson. 

A memorial service will be planned in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorial gifts in honor of Sally A. Kitt Chappell to the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled. You may donate online at iladd.org/donate. You also may mail a contribution to ILADD, 8649 Carey Avenue, River Grove, IL 60171-1636, Attn: Wayne Ryerson, Treasurer. Telephone is 708-453-2824.

– Pauline Saliga, Kevin Harrington and Elaine Harrington

Source: Society of Architectural Historians, August 10, 2012; https://www.sah.org/about-sah/news/sah-news/news-detail/2021/08/10/obituary-sally-anderson-kitt-chappell-ph.d.-(1929-2021)

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Sally A. Kitt Chappell, a respected architectural historian and beloved retired DePaul professor, died Aug. 2, 2021. She was 92.

Chappell joined DePaul's faculty in 1968 and taught for 26 years in the Department of Art, serving as its chair from 1977 to 1980. During Chappell's tenure, her tremendous commitment to liberal arts education, her passion for teaching and her extensive scholarly research contributed to the university's growth. She retired in 1994.

Mike Mezey, who served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recalls her influence on new faculty as the university grew.

"Sally was a role model, particularly for female faculty, about how one could be a prolific scholar — as Sally was — an excellent teacher and a good citizen of the college," Mezey says. "She was involved in recruiting some of the best young art historians who came to DePaul and provided a foundation for what now is a very strong department. So she was, you might say, one of the founding mothers of that particular area of study."

Sally Chappell, shown in an undated photo, taught 26 years in DePaul's Department of Art, chairing the department from 1977 to 1980. (Image courtesy of Special Collections and Archives)

Chappell won several prestigious grants, including two federal grants for the DePaul Library and a $111,500 grant in 1984 from the National Endowment of the Humanities to direct its summer institute. Chappell organized the institute that brought faculty members from around the country to DePaul to study Chicago architecture.

"Without being overly dramatic about it, the current university stands on the shoulders of people like Sally," Mezey says. "People who were there when the university wasn't what it is now and who, through hard work, built what we currently have."

Chappell was a passionate teacher, deeply committed to the value of a liberal arts education for undergraduate students. She was the first DePaul faculty to earn the Sears Roebuck Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award in 1990. The same year, DePaul awarded her the Rev. William T. Cortelyou-Martin J. Lowery Award for Excellence, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' highest faculty honor.

Pauline Saliga, who took some of her courses in the early 1970s, calls Chappell's teaching "beyond compare." Inspired in part by Chappell, Saliga pursued a career in architectural history. She now serves as executive director of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Saliga remembers how Chappell would start each class with a five-minute discussion about a current event or life decision she was wrestling with, then ask students to weigh in.

"That's one of the things that I learned from her that even the seemingly simplest questions do have a certain level of complexity, if you take the time to consider all sides," Saliga says. "And it's that critical-thinking aspect of her work that I still carry with me today, questioning and trying to get at the kernel of truth." Saliga co-wrote an obituary for the society honoring Chappell.

Chappell was a respected voice on Chicago architecture, one of her research passions. She wrote extensively both for scholarly journals and the general public about architectural history, urban planning, city parks and landscape architecture. She authored several books, including the first academic history of the architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, which designed the famed Wrigley Building in Chicago. She also wrote the first book about Cahokia Mounds from an architectural history viewpoint, and she completed a guide to Chicago's parks and landscapes.

Chappell is survived by her husband of 44 years, Dr. Walter Kitt, three children, one stepchild, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Chappell earned her doctorate in architectural history from Northwestern University. She also held a bachelor's degree from Smith College and a master's from the University of Chicago. A memorial service will take place in the coming months.

Source: Newsline, August 12, 2021

In Memoriam - Jill O'Brien

 

Jill O'Brien, professor emeritus in the College of Communication, passed away on June 30. She served DePaul University for 34 years, in the Department of Communication and then the College of Communication, in roles that included associate dean of the college, chair of the department and the second communication studies program director.

During her career at DePaul, O'Brien made substantive contributions to the development of the communication program, including expanding the curriculum to include organizational and interpersonal communication, generating the first concentrations in the communication curriculum, authoring the constitution of the newly formed Department of Communication and the restructuring and professionalization of the DePaul radio station.

O'Brien also developed the first adjunct-faculty orientation program, which became a model for other colleges at the university.

Even as she prepared for retirement, O'Brien made substantial contributions on the University Committee on Academic Policy. She will always be remembered for her wonderful laugh, her great sense of humor and her tremendous work ethic.

Finally, upon retirement in 2014, O'Brien received the Via Sapientiae Award, the highest honor DePaul can bestow upon a member of the university community, in recognition of her distinctive and extraordinary contributions.

Source: DePaul Newline Online, July 8, 2021

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Jill Louise O'Brien, PhD, OP (formerly Sr Job) of Chicago, IL died peacefully in her home Wednesday afternoon, June 30, 2021. Jill's parents John J & Jean V. (née Pellettieri) O'Brien preceded her in death. Jill is survived by her two siblings: John D O'Brien, Dr. Judith A O'Brien (the late Malcolm) Heyworth and three beloved nieces: Catherine Heyworth, Christina Heyworth, Caroline Heyworth. Family, faith, learning and teaching were Jill's passions. 

Jill had a big personality. Her wonderful laugh, gift for funny storytelling, quick wit, and deep loyalty will always be remembered by those lucky enough to have known her. 

Jill's formal education began at Queen of All Saints elementary school, Regina Dominican High School and Siena Heights College in Adrian MI where she took vows as a Dominican (1968), Her formal education continued at Loyola University (Chicago) and then the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) where she earned her doctorate in Communication (1974). Jill's list of lifelong learning achievements and certifications are innumerable. Jill taught many levels of students ranging from 1st graders (Toledo, OH) to college students at Murray State U (KY)and then undergrad, grad, post-grad & professional students through DePaul University, (Chicago) where she was on the faculty for over 34 years. During her long career she was instrumental in expanding the Communication class offerings through their English Dept. When a Dept. of Communication was created Jill authored it's constitution, generated the first concentrations in the new department's curriculum and served as it's second-ever chairperson. She was also responsible for restructuring and professionalizing DePaul's radio station. DePaul eventually launched a separate College of Communication (2008) with Jill developing many of it's new programs & initiatives including a first ever orientation program for adjunct faculty which became the model for other colleges. Even as she prepared for retirement Jill served on the University Committee on Academic Policy. After her retirement Jill became a recipient of DePaul's Via Sapientiae Award - the highest award which can be conferred upon a member of the DePaul community to recognize distinctive and extraordinary contributions to the university throughout a professional career. 

Jill also had a full private life which included volunteering enormous amounts of her time, energy & boundless talents to her work for the Dominicans. This included serving on the Advisory Board of Dominican University 's McGreal Center. She was the Central Province archivist and in 2013 crafted the Lay Dominican Oral History project (LDOH). Jill was honored to represent Dominican Laity for the entire USA in Rome for the 800th anniversary of the death of St Dominic (2017). Jill touched thousands of lives during her lifetime. 

In her home during her last days on earth a priest from her longtime parish (QAS) anointed her, Rainbow Hospice followed her, closest family cared for her & sat vigil in person as countless others added their prayers for the angel of peace to watch over Jill and lead her to the reign of God. St Catherine of Siena said "be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire". Jill did just that. Services and interment private. Burial Mt Carmel Cemetery. Prayers, masses, & sharing of a memory on her memorial at www.smithcorcoran.com and www.legacy.com would be appreciated. For further information contact Smith Corcoran Funeral Home at 773-736-3833

Source: Chicago Tribune, July 11, 2021, page 36

Book Club June 2

 Most members of the DES Book Club enjoyed McCullough’s detailed, wide-ranging account of Americans in Paris from the 1830s to the close of the nineteenth century.  Many readers commented on McCullough’s easy, graceful style; they were impressed also by his thorough research and his use of sources like letters and diaries to illuminate the individual lives of his American subjects.  And of course they were impressed by the range of fields this work covers—medicine, technology, art, literature, and the many Americans who were transformed by their studies in Paris. In particular, the accounts of artists were vivid and compelling.  A few readers felt that the work covered too much detail, so the effect was scattered; they felt McCullough had assembled material without achieving a unified narrative with an “arc” or controlling idea.  But in general there was admiration for McCullough’s achievement and his ability to convey the energy and wonder of these encounters with Paris.  We all agreed that the paperback would benefit from better maps, especially to encourage an understanding of the extensive changes in Paris during these years. 

At the close of the meeting, Nancy Rospenda reminded everyone to send her any contributions to the newsletter—especially accounts of how we spent the year of the pandemic.  Contributions should reach her by June 30 for the next issue of the newsletter.

Our next book will be The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Our next meeting will be August 4 at 11 am, Central Daylight Time. The zoom link opens at 10:30 to permit everyone time to connect and say hello. If you have any questions, please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough.

We enjoy catching up with our former colleagues and enjoy welcoming new members to the group. Zoom meetings have provided a great way for us to connect virtually during this time.

In Memoriam - Frank Wukitsch

April 18, 1941 - January 26, 2021

Frank E. Wukitsch, 79, passed away on January 26, 2021 in Geneva. Frank was born on April 18, 1941 in Chicago to Frank and Dorothy (nee Schlesser) Wukitsch. He was united in marriage to Susan (Bonnie) Zimmerman on April 30, 1968 in Basel, Switzerland.

Frank will be remembered for his love for his family, the theatre and old tools.  Frank’s father, a tool and die man for the Chicago Stockyards, instilled a love for woodworking and tools at a young age.  Frank would often go with his father to job sites and learned woodworking from a master.  After four years in the army (stationed in Germany), Frank went to work for the Raytheon Company working on missiles.  While in Germany, Frank and Susan were introduced by a mutual friend and were married two months later in Basel, Switzerland.    Returning to the United States, Frank received a Masters Degree in Theatre and went on to teach theatre at the Latin School in Chicago and The Goodman School of Drama/The Theatre School- DePaul University.  His many students talk of his “quiet but powerful sense of calm and generous heart” and his giving of his sandwiches is legendary.   

Frank instilled in his young children a love of the arts, and specifically, the theatre.  Many a weekend was spent on the train going into Chicago to see one of the children’s shows at the Goodman Theatre and later The Theatre School- DePaul University.  Lisa and Gil carry on that love of the arts and the theatre in their jobs as music teachers, pit orchestra directors, and drama directors.

After his retirement, Frank and Susan could be found antiquing, always bringing home that “new” antique tool or another book or piece of china.  Frank volunteered with Preservation Partners of Fox Valley, helping to restore some of the old machinery and giving tool talks to weekend visitors.  Frank spent time with his adult children, helping Lisa to build scenery for her school and helping Gil to rebuild his old barn.  Frank enjoyed visiting the farm animals with his granddaughter, Ava, and talking Legos with his grandson, Grant.

Frank leaves behind his wife, Susan, his children, Lisa (Chris) Wukitsch and Gil (Danielle),Wukitsch, his grandchildren, Ava Wukitsch and Grant Wukitsch, his brothers, Tom (Margaret) Wukitsch and Bob (Barbara) Wukitsch, his sister, Lori (Nick) D’Asta, many cousins, numerous nieces and nephews, many friends, and countless students.

Frank is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Dorothy Wukitsch, and his stepmother, Grace Wukitsch (nee LeBanco).

All services will be private.

In honor of Frank, please consider a donation to Preservation Partners of Fox Valley or The Theatre School- DePaul University (Wukitsch Spare Sandwich) Scholarship Fund .

Arrangements entrusted to Moss Family Funeral Home St. Charles 630-584-2000 or www.mossfuneral.com

Source: Moss Funeral Home, accessed April 20, 2021

Book Club, April 7

Opinions were divided during our discussion of Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House. Some readers responded enthusiastically to the rich characterizations and family dynamics in the novel, while others found the characters’ obsessions with the house itself a puzzle or a limitation.  Our conversation started with an observation that the novel is narrated entirely by Danny Conroy, yet it is dominated by women and their concerns.  We considered the relationship of sister and brother, Maeve and Danny.  Maeve’s insistence that Danny attend medical school, to spend down the inheritance that would otherwise go to the children of Andrea, their stepmother, seems an elaborate kind of vengeance.  While the banishment of Maeve and Danny by their stepmother from the house (and Maeve’s response) seemed rather unconvincing to many of us, others saw it as one of many borrowings in the novel from fairy tales; at various points, the novel seems to echo tales of wicked stepmothers, children left to find their way in the forest, and magical castles.  

The Dutch House itself evoked a range of reflections and comments.  The role of the large front windows, both architecturally and as an ironic “transparence,” led to observations about actual Dutch houses and the odd presence of the original Dutch inhabitants through their portraits and possessions.  The servants who seem almost part of the furnishings, starting with Fluffy, were all richly drawn and interesting in themselves.  Andrea’s obsession with the house, and Maeve’s persistent return to watch the house from outside, suggested its power. Only when a party given by the new owner, Danny's daughter, celebrates new beginnings, does the house appear to have found its rightful owner.  The family, despite Maeve’s death, also appears more coherent in those final scenes, though the novel’s ending remains ambiguous.

Our next book will be The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David Mccullough. We will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, June 2. Meeting starts at 11 am Chicago time. However, the Zoom link will be open at 10:30, to make sure everyone can  establish a good connection.

Please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough if you have any questions.

We enjoy catching up with our former colleagues and enjoy welcoming new members to the group. Zoom meetings have provided a great way for colleagues not in the immediate vicinity of the Lincoln Park Campus to participate. 

In Memoriam - John Kordek

 

Ambassador John F. Kordek (Ret.)  of Arlington Heights

Retired U.S. Ambassador John F. Kordek was born on June 9, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Harriet (nee Rogalski) Kordek. He died Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at home with his loving wife by his side.

Following graduation from Weber H.S., he joined the U.S. Air Force and served four years on active duty with the Strategic Air Command (SAC) 818th Air Division of the 8th U.S. Air Force.

When he completed his active military service, he graduated from DePaul University with a PhB in 1964. Kordek is also a graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University. The Ambassador also studied at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated from three languages (Serbo-Croat, Polish, and Spanish) and area studies programs from the State Department's U.S. Foreign Service Institute.

Recruited while a college senior at DePaul for the U.S. Foreign Service. He worked for 26 years with the USIA, ICA, and the U.S. State Department, attaining the rank of Career Minister and then U.S. Ambassador.

Kordek served in Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Venezuela, Botswana, and Washington D.C. He also worked in numerous other countries as part of official U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy delegations. One of his first jobs in the Foreign Service in 1965 was to escort Louis Armstrong, who was visiting the former Yugoslavia as part of the U.S. State Department Cultural program overseas.

Ambassador Kordek held many senior positions in the U.S. Foreign Service, including Acting Deputy Ambassador DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw during the rise to power of the Solidarity movement and the visits of Pope John Paul II to Poland.

During President Reagan's presidency, Kordek was the USIA Director of European Affairs and then the Counselor of the Agency, the highest career official in USIA.

He participated in the Geneva and Reykjavik summit meetings between President Reagan and Soviet leader Gorbachev and numerous international negotiations, including those with the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, and other countries.

President Reagan nominated Kordek as a U.S. Ambassador in 1988, and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed him. During the Reagan Administration, he briefed senior officials, including Vice President Bush, and participated in several key National Security Council meetings at the White House chaired by the president.

During his foreign service career, Kordek was nominated for diplomatic positions by every American president, from Lyndon B. Johnson to Bill Clinton.

Following his retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service, Kordek joined DePaul University, where he worked for 15 years as Associate Vice President and taught courses on WWII and the Holocaust. He also lectured at many universities and organizations.

President Clinton, in 1995, appointed Kordek to two five-year terms to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington, which oversees the operations of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Kordek served on the Council's Executive Committee and the Committee on Conscience, which monitors genocide worldwide.

Clinton also selected Ambassador Kordek to be a member of the U.S. presidential delegations to commemorate the 50th anniversaries of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau NAZI death camps. He traveled with, among others, on these delegations with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel.

Kordek is the recipient of many honors, including a presidential award from President Reagan for "..., sustained superior conduct of U.S. foreign policy"; Distinguished and Superior Honor Awards from the State Department, ICA, and USIA.

The Ambassador is also the recipient of the "Via Sapientiae Award," DePaul University's highest faculty-staff honor. It was awarded to Kordek for his work to educate generations of students and faculty "....about the horrors of bigotry and the promotion of the value of dignity and respect for all people."

Ambassador Kordek served on several boards of directors when he returned home to Illinois, including the Illinois Humanities Council and the Chicago International Visitors Center. He chaired the Chicago-Warsaw Sister Cities program and was co-chair of the National Polish American - Jewish American National Council.

Kordek is a world traveler. His foreign service assignments took him to the four corners of the world. In retirement, he and his wife continued their travels visiting all the earth's continents. He loved opera, classical music, and jazz. And was a voracious reader of world history.

John is survived by his spouse of 56 years, Alice (nee Kleczynski); son Andrew (Elizabeth) Kordek; daughter Catherine (Lynn) Stover; grandchildren Joshua Kordek, Henry Stover, and Will Stover; brother Phillip (Theresa) Kordek and sister Judy (Chester) Pasowicz.

A Memorial Service for John will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be given to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Funeral Information and condolences can be given at www.GlueckertFuneralHome.com or (847) 253-0168.

Book Club February 3

 We had a lively discussion of Caste. Many found the work powerful and compelling, but less informative than Wilkerson's earlier The Warmth of Other Suns. We applauded her use of compelling personal stories and analogies that lent force to her analysis. Her comparison of the problem of caste as the weak foundation of the house of American society helped highlight the need to confront and understand systemic racism. And the account of the black schoolboy denied the use of the local swimming pool brought home the thoughtless cruelty of racist culture. Some noted problems with the parallels drawn between the Nazi "final solution", the Indian caste system, and American racism, seeing critical differences between these three systems. Others noted that the term "caste" could equally apply to ethnic distinctions and was used too broadly here. We identified some instances of superficial source material, but agreed that the younger readers could read and learn from Caste. We agreed that all readers could take away valuable lessons and new awareness from this work.

Our next book will be The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. We will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, April 7. Meeting starts at 11 am. However, the Zoom link will be open at 10:30, to make sure everyone can  establish a good connection.

Please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough if you have any questions.

We enjoy catching up with our former colleagues and enjoy welcoming new members to the group. Zoom meetings have provided a great way for colleagues not in the immediate vicinity of the Lincoln Park Campus to participate. 

 

In Memoriam - Donald Banik

Don Banik worked in Security at the Lewis Center. He always had a smile on his face. Rest in peace, Don.

Donald J. Banik, US Army Veteran, at rest February 10th at age of 86; Beloved husband and best friend of Mary Ann, nee Wowczuk for over 54 years; Loving dad of Michelle (Ed) Snorewicz, Dawn (Jim) Cooke, Maribeth (Nicole) Conway, Donald (Collen) Rost Banik and David Banik; Cherished grandpa of Emily, Jacob, Matthew, John and Danny; Fond brother of Dolores (late Stanley) Koslowski; Dear brother-in-law of Collette (late Robert) Kampendahl; also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends. Visitation Monday, February 15th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Curley Funeral Home, (Kubina-Tybor Directors), 6116 W. 111th Street, Chicago Ridge. Family and friends will gather on Tuesday, February 16th at St. Linus Church, 10300 S. Lawler, Oak Lawn for 11:00 a.m. Mass. Private interment at Good Shepherd Cemetery. Due to Covid concerns social distancing rules will be observed and masks are required. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate considering a memorial donation in Don’s name to St. Linus’ St. Vincent de Paul Society preferred. For Funeral info 708-422-2700, or www.curleyfuneralhome.com

To send a message to the Banik family or share condolences: https://www.curleyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Donald-J-Banik?obId=19964765

Source: Chicago Tribune, February 14, 2021, page 33