Foster mother developed a rapport with students

Lillie P. Thoms worked with students at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates for 13 years, but not in a classroom.

The busy corridors and cafeteria were her classrooms, where students often sought her out as a friendly face and an open ear.

Mrs. Thoms worked as a student supervisor or hall monitor at Conant from 1990 to 2003, when she retired.

On Oct. 10, Mrs. Thoms passed away. The former 30-year resident of Arlington Heights, most recently of Roselle and Schaumburg, was 69.

Family members say her role with students was a natural extension of her years as a foster parent, when she cared for as many as 15 children through the Department of Child and Family Services.

"Some of them were short-term, emergency situations," says her son, Mark Thoms of Schaumburg. "Others lived with us for years."

Mrs. Thoms grew up in a picturesque town in the foothills of southwest Ohio, the daughter of a steelworker and one of nine children.

"She was near the end of the line, and she used to tell me how she remembers giving her older brothers hugs and kisses before they went off to fight in World War II," her son adds.

Family members say Mrs. Thoms looked back on her experience growing up in a large family fondly, and that it played a role in her later work both with foster children and high school teens.

"She just loved being around kids," her son says.

A co-worker of hers at Conant, Sheila Spitz of Hanover Park, says while student supervisors occasionally had to serve as disciplinarians, Mrs. Thoms often served more as an adviser.

"She was really good with the kids," Spitz says. "She was very low key and talked in a quiet manner that the kids really responded to.

"In our job we were called on to do lots of things," Spitz adds, "from being a psychologist to a good friend. That's what she was good at."

Besides her son Mark, Mrs. Thoms is survived by her sons John (Rose) and Paul (Susan) and six grandchildren. Services have been held.