Barrington Hills environmental pioneer mourned

Barbara MacArthur of Barrington Hills, who died Monday at 82, is being remembered for her work to establish and defend the village's strong stance on land conservation and environmentalism.

The widow of former village trustee Alexander MacArthur, who died in 1993, Barbara was known as a passionate pioneer of organic farming on the family's 430-acre Strathmore Organic Farms.

Former Barrington Hills village president Robert Abboud said the MacArthurs deeply influenced his work to defend the strict development standards of the village.

"I worked for Barbara and Alex from the time I was 13 to the time I was 16," Abboud said. "They were my first real job. It was through Barbara and Alex that I got my interest in environmental protection and land-use protection."

While both MacArthurs were innovative in how they operated the family farm, Barbara took the business in an even more progressive direction after her husband's death by making it entirely organic.

"He kind of represented the past in farming and she represented the future," Abboud said. "Her focus on protecting the environment was really 20 years ahead of its time. She was way ahead of the curve on these issues."

Family friend Debby Rivera said Barbara learned from her grandparents while growing up on a Wisconsin farm. She later moved to the Chicago area to be an interior designer and met Alex as a client.

"She had the artist's eye, but like many artists derived her inspiration from nature," Rivera said. "Nature just kept pulling her in."

Rivera remembers Barbara as the quintessential town and country woman - putting on her boots to work in the fields with the same aplomb as she'd keep appointments at beauty salons and private clubs.

"She was a stunning woman," Rivera said. "She reminded me of a Katharine Hepburn."

Though Alex never became village president, his prominence and influence led officials to name the village board's meeting room in his honor.

"He was the soul of the village," Abboud said. "He was where all the backbone really came from. If you tried to threaten the village with a road or a development, you were given holy hell. It's really the MacArthurs who set the tone."

Abboud said continued to wield influence after her husband's death.

"If they taught me anything, it's that one person can make a difference," he added. "Without the MacArthurs, the village would be a very different place."

Barbara's survivors include her son Lawrence "Lad" MacArthur of Barrington Hills and daughters Jennifer Wilson of Spokane, Washington, and Alexa MacArthur of Mercer Island, Washington.

Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 149 W. Main St. in Barrington. The committal service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Windridge Memorial Park Cemetery, 7014 S. Rawson Bridge Road in Cary.

For more information, call Davenport Family Funeral Home at (847) 381-3411. Online condolences can be given at davenportfamily.com.