By Bernard Schoenburg May 16, 2012
Springfield Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin’s mother, Margaret McMenamin, died on Mother’s Day at age 89. Asked for some thoughts about her for my political column, he sent some touching remembrances. I’m using some in a column, but wanted to use this forum so people could read all that he wrote.
Best to his family.
Bernard Schoenburg
“Mom was a vigorous, generous, and open hearted woman who knew how to spread herself in all directions without playing favorites. She was always thinking of others till the very end. Growing up, I never heard Mom and Dad argue – they were a team. In the USA in the 1960s and 70s, Mom was on her own for month-long stretches when Dad went overseas on business trips. Mom relied on the eldest ones at home to help her, to be responsible, and set the right example.
“Mom and Dad believed in education and Dad taught in a rural one-room school house in DeKalb County during the Depression after 2 year’s of Teacher’s College, and before going on to the U of I. Mom and Dad expected all of us to study and read and there was no TV on school nights. We were the last family in our neighborhood to get a color TV and that was a gift from our grandpa (Mom’s widowed father) who liked to watch sports when he would come over weekly for dinner.
“Mom and Dad produced 2 teachers, a doctor, a physical therapist, a CPA, 3 attorneys, a banker, 2 finance officers, and homemakers. Growing up Dad created an education funding spread sheet on the back of a laundry shirt card board – which he kept for the 20 years it took to get all 12 through college. The chart showed the 12 children in columns and the years (1962 thru 1984) in rows and therefore displayed how many would be in college in any one year and the inflation adjusted costs for each year of each child in each block cell. Mom and Dad said we could go anywhere but the cost would be shared 50% parents and 50% child. I was child # 6 and although accepted for admission to Notre Dame I went to U of I back when U of I was $2K a year everything included. Four younger siblings later followed to U of I and I often joked to Mom and Dad that they “owed” me on that one.”
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 