A born community leader for Wheeling, Vernon Hills

At first glance, Debbie R. Milarski had an enviable job, as entertainment director for the village of Vernon Hills' Summer Celebration.

She met dozens of celebrities and bands over her seven-year term, but she also had to accommodate their sometimes quirky demands, as detailed in the riders of their contracts.

Family members vividly recall singer Rick Springfield, who wanted to be met at the airport with a dozen roses in hand, as well as have another dozen roses in the limousine.

Another band wanted M&Ms on hand backstage -- but no blue ones -- leading to Mrs. Milarski picking them all out.

"She would just laugh at some of the demands," says her husband, Wayne, whom she met at Wheeling High School. "But she got a kick out of being involved, and being able to be a part of it, and bringing these bands to the community."

Mrs. Milarski passed away Jan. 14 after a long battle with cancer. The Wheeling native and former Vernon Hills resident was 51.

For Mrs. Milarski, community involvement was a family tradition.

She grew up as the middle of six children, of Ted and Grace Scanlon in Wheeling. For much of her childhood, her father was the village president of Wheeling, and her mother volunteered with many of its special events.

"My father always said she'd have been one heck of a politician," says her younger brother, Paul, of Wheeling. Ted Scanlon was president of Wheeling from 1965 to 1977. "She was a people person, and a real go-getter."

Her days would start early, overseeing the loading dock at the Jewel Food Store in Vernon Hills, including supervising its loading and receiving, and ordering new inventory for the week ahead.

Her morning shift allowed her to be home when her three children, Derek, Jamie and Jennifer, returned from school, and be involved in their activities before she headed to Summer Celebration meetings at night.

Working the four-day festival every year was always a highlight, family members said, and Mrs. Milarski turned it into a family affair.

Her husband and brother Paul worked security behind the main stage, while her children worked on the grounds as well.

"She always stayed in the background and never drew any attention to herself," Paul Scanlon adds, "except for when her name was announced with the rest of the committee members, and she always drew some of the loudest applause."

Besides her husband, three children and brother, Mrs. Milarski is survived by her father, Ted C. Scanlon of Wheeling; sisters, Sally Kowal of Arlington Heights, Penny (Jim) Swift of Elk Grove Village and Regina (Rick) Weber of Barrington and brother David (Oliva) Scanlon of Wheeling.

Services have been held.