Barrington Hills woman made Wendy Ward a household name
The woman behind the Wendy Ward modeling and charm program that drew hundreds of teenage girls to Randhurst Shopping Center each year during the 1970s, has died.
Jenese Busch developed the program into a key promotional venue for Randhurst, while giving teenage girls a taste of modeling and fashion merchandising.
Mrs. Busch, a longtime resident of Mount Prospect and most recently of Barrington Hills, passed away on Sunday. She was 80.
The Wendy Ward Charm School was part of a national initiative launched by Montgomery Ward's in the mid-1960s to tap into teenage fashion trends in different parts of the country. It grew into a national phenomenon at Ward's stores across the country, and in the Chicago area it was particularly successful at Randhurst.
Girls were enrolled in six-week courses, which started with lessons in grooming, manners and etiquette and culminated in weekly fashion shows in Montgomery Ward's first floor cafeteria, where the girls modeled clothes they chose themselves.
The graduation ceremony consisted of a full length runway show, held in the lower level of the store and featuring the girls in a choreographed show that showcased Ward fashions for teens.
Mrs. Busch's youngest daughter, Nancy Laterza of Barrington Hills, remembers she and her sisters would be roped into helping out with the shows, and had a great time.
"I practically grew up at Randhurst," Laterza said.
Wendy Ward, she added, provided a unique outlet for girls, "and one in which they really blossomed and developed self confidence and poise."
Girls in the program also had the chance to be selected for the Pacesetters Teen Board, led by Mrs. Busch. The role combined local appearances and promotional work with community service projects.
Pictures of the teen board members hung in the center of Ward's juniors department, and they became role models for their peers, Laterza says.
Jill Ziske Lund, now activities director at The Garlands in Barrington, took Wendy Ward classes at Randhurst from the time she was 12.
"The classes started with our outer beauty, but they soon included developing our inner beauty," Lund recalls. "Jenese would teach us about being a good conversationalist, how to have poise and confidence, and even how to disagree in a way that was compassionate, and just how to stand up for ourselves."
Randhurst officials were so impressed with the success of Wendy Ward that they asked Mrs. Busch to also become the fashion coordinator for the entire mall.
In that role, she held fashion shows twice a year in the Center Court, and would make sure to include something from every store in the mall, whether they sold menswear or even pet supplies.
Mrs. Busch pulled in celebrities to emcee some shows, notably Larry Lujack and Bob Sirott.
Mrs. Busch was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond, and daughter, Darcy. Besides Nancy, she is survived by daughters, Susan (Michael) Marsico of Roswell, GA; and Debby (Gary) Cooper of Cincinnati, as well as eight grandchildren.
Visitation will take place 5-9 p.m. Monday at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 149 W. Main St., Barrington, before a 10 a.m. funeral Mass on Tuesday at St. Anne Church, 120 Ela St., in Barrington.