Jeanne C. Stuart, one of Elmhurst’s most involved residents, passed away on Dec. 20, leaving a legacy that not only helped promote a voters organization, but also resulted in getting an underpass along Robert T. Palmer drive.
Although her son Chris Stuart was mourning the loss of his mother at age 99, he spoke of her with pride and admiration for the life she led—both as a young woman and as a staunch believer in the value of serving one’s community.
Stuart was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from high school in 1942. She received a degree in American history from Vassar College at the age of 20, then moved to Chicago, where she worked for Encyclopedia Britannica.
Her father, Frederick Crane, was the director of public works in Buffalo, and both parents “were very active people,” Stuart said. “People who believed in going out and doing things in the community.”
Her mother, Nathalia, was “doing traditional things of the time; garden club, woman’s auxiliary [but] was a force of personality that came through, different from most grandmothers,” Stuart said with a chuckle.
As for his grandfather, “When he said he was going to do something he’d do it,” he added. “He sort of taught my mother that’s the way it should be.”
As for the degree in history, her son said “She just loved history, but I don’t think she viewed herself as going [on] to a career.”
He said the family, which included his two older brothers, took driving trips around the country, and his parents believed that knowing about both American history and world politics “was an extremely important quality. That’s what strikes my memory.”
After working in Chicago, Jeanne returned to Buffalo, where she reconnected with classmate James D. Stuart. They moved to Chicago in 1949 and married in May 1950, and moved to Elmhurst in 1954, where James was a pediatrician.
While his father focused on building his practice, his mother became involved in the early days of the Elmhurst League of Women Voters, Stuart narrated, where she would go on to serve as membership chair and president, among other executive roles.
“That became a very important part of her early time in Elmhurst,” he said, describing that her involvement “brought her to the attention of local politics … maybe the force of her personality.”
Jeanne became one of the first female members of Elmhurst’s zoning board and city council, and represented the Fourth Ward from 1975-83.
“She worked incredibly hard,” her son recalled. “She knocked on every single door in the Fourth Ward!”
He said one of her most proud accomplishments was getting an underpass along Robert T. Palmer Drive (named after a former city manager and friend).
Jeanne also worked as the bookstore manager at York High School for several years.
James became ill in the late 1960s, and Jeanne took care of him both while he underwent dialysis at home and after a kidney transplant in late 1970, all of which “demanded that she step up.”
“She took charge,” Stuart continued, “because he just didn’t have the energy.”
She was there “very much trying to support my dad,” he emphasized, “… a fact that my brothers and I recognized.”
After James passed away in 1991 at the age of 66, “My mother lived a whole separate life from 1991 on,” Stuart recounted.
At one time Jeanne had studied for a teaching certificate at Northeastern University, also taking some classes at now-Elmhurst University.
“She realized what a fantastic college it was,” her son said, and would become a financial supporter of the university, for which she was honored in 2018.
Jeanne was a dedicated member of Bethel United Church of Christ since the late 1960s, where she served on various committees. Later on, she was part of the search committee for a new pastor (the Rev. Gretchen Sylvester) and at 90 years old, she prepared meals and sandwiches for Housing Forward and the Night Ministry, supporting homeless LGBTQIA+ individuals—for which she was honored during the church’s 70th anniversary last year.
Jeanne, who was “a devoted music lover,” also served as president of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra Auxiliary, for which she received the Silver Measure Award in 1994.
Her love of the opera and theater had her subscribing to a number of venues, and she became a member of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Elmhurst Art Museum.
She loved traveling, both around the United States and in other countries, according to her son, and she enjoyed spending summers at her cabin in Chippewa Falls, Wis.
“It’s astounding what she did after my dad passed away,” Stuart commented. “She really held our family together” both before and after his dad passed away.
The bottom line, he summed up of his mother’s volunteer spirit, is, “She worked very hard to have an effect on our community.”
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Bethel United Church of Christ, 315 E. St. Charles Road, Elmhurst.
Memorials may be made to the church (www.bethel-ucc.org/give) or the Illinois League of Women voters (www.lwvil.org/donate-campaign-to-safeguard-democracy).