Veteran Wauconda library board member Terry Stevig dies
Veteran Wauconda Area Library board member and retired educator Terry Stevig is being fondly remembered by his family and his peers.
Stevig, 71, of Wauconda, died Saturday after suffering a heart attack.
He spent decades on the library board and as a teacher and administrator at Wauconda High School.
"He liked to help people," said Stevig's widow, Ruth. "And he loved kids."
Stevig was a Wauconda Library trustee for more than 36 years, serving the last four as the panel's president. Officials believe he was the longest-serving trustee in the library's history.
Stevig helped oversee the construction of a library building on Main Street in 1987, a significant expansion and remodeling of the facility in 1997, another extensive remodeling in 2015 and continued growth of library services, among other projects.
"Terry has played a huge role in the history of the Wauconda Area Library," Director Tom Kern said.
Stevig also was a driving force in the planning of an outdoor site renovation at the library that could begin this summer, Kern said.
"We are all so glad that he played an important role in developing this project," Kern said. "(He) was involved with the planning, led the board in approving the architect's master plan and helped pave the way for it to become a reality."
Ruth Stevig said her husband's service to the district reflected his love of reading, ideas and learning.
"The library was really important to him as an institution," she said.
Professionally, Stevig spent more than 34 years as a teacher and guidance counselor at Wauconda High School. He also coached boys and girls soccer and tennis there.
Stevig was "instrumental" in launching soccer as a varsity sport at Wauconda High in the 1980s, Wauconda Unit School District 118 Superintendent Dan Coles said.
"He was a very dedicated educator," Coles said. "He impacted many, many lives during his career."
Stevig retired as the guidance department coordinator in 2001 but kept coaching until 2011.
In retirement, Stevig continued following Wauconda High's soccer teams and regularly played tennis at the Crystal Lake Racket Club. Stevig collected Lego bricks and jigsaw puzzles, too.
"He loved life," Ruth Stevig said. "He had a great sense of humor. He was fun."
In addition to his wife, Stevig's survivors include a daughter, Rebecca; and two grandchildren.
Visitation is 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Kisselburg-Wauconda Funeral Home, 235 N. Main St., Wauconda. A memorial service begins there at 5 p.m.
Instead of flowers, memorials can be made to the David Andrew Stevig Scholarship Fund at Wauconda High School, 555 N. Main St., Wauconda, Illinois, 60084. Donations also can be sent to the Wauconda Area Library, 801 N. Main St., Wauconda, Illinois, 60084.