Hoffman Estates loses an early influential leader
An early Hoffman Estates trustee who served on the board as the community footprint was being shaped, has passed away.
John Harmon died Nov. 10, less than nine months after his daughter, Susan Kenley-Rupnow, also a former Hoffman Estates trustee, died of cancer in February. Mr. Harmon was 91.
"It's been a rough year for Hoffman Estates," said Mayor Bill McLeod.
Mr. Harmon and his wife, Frances, moved to Hoffman Estates in 1958. They were among the early residents who lobbied for incorporation, which came in 1959.
As a result of his leadership, Mr. Harmon joined the first village plan commission before being elected to the board of trustees from 1960 to 1965.
His involvement came at the height of the village's early growth. During these years the village annexed land north of I-90; in all, some 2,000 acres were incorporated by 1962, including the Winston Knolls and Westbury subdivisions, and the Paul Douglas Forest Preserve, which more than doubled the town's size.
"We were in a building mode in those days," McLeod says, "but John always retained a vision that the village needed to be able to sustain itself, and not just from property taxes.
"He envisioned a community that included a mix of retail and commercial," McLeod added.
Colleagues add that Mr. Harmon also weathered a storm of corruption that infiltrated the village board during the mid-1960s.
"He was the good guy in the white hat," says a longtime friend, Don Lundell.
Another trustee at the time, George Seaver, recalls Mr. Harmon as a man of great integrity who was motivated by his concern for the village.
"He loved this community more than anyone I've ever seen," Seaver said.
During those same years, Mr. Harmon was an educator, with 25 years in the Niles Township High School system as a teacher and a track and cross-country coach.
Mr. Harmon himself was an athlete. He captained the track and football teams at McKendree College in downstate Lebanon before serving in World War II. As an Army Air Force navigator assigned to the European theater, Mr. Harmon was awarded a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
His daughter later shared his same vision for community service. Exactly 20 years after her father left the board, Ms. Kenley-Rupnow was elected to the board of trustees, where she spent the next 20 years, before being elected to the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board.
In August, village officials dedicated a public works facility in the name of Ms. Kenley-Rupnow, during a ceremony that Mr. Harmon attended.
Mr. Harmon is survived by his wife, Frances; sons, John (Nancy) of Schaumburg and Tom of Springfield, Mo.; as well as three grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Family members said a memorial will be held at a future date.