Time starting to heal wounds in Plainfield after devastating tornado

The village of Plainfield shows little evidence of the devastation that ripped the community apart 20 years ago Saturday.

The modern high school on Fort Beggs Drive looks like many that have been built in recent years.

The attractive Catholic Church and school on Route 59 started its school year without ceremony Tuesday. And a street that once contained nothing but rubble in the aftermath of the F5 twister has been rebuilt; most of the residents remain the same.

But a short, winding concrete path between the school and the church, partially obscured by small trees, leads to a granite memorial engraved with 29 names. It reminds residents of Aug. 28, 1990, a day that still holds horrific memories for people whose lives were changed that day.

'It's hard to figure out God's plan'Nancy Hawes returned home from a shopping trip to a horrific scene: Her home and those of her neighbors were obliterated. The smell of gas and sound of hissing pipes were in the air. Small fires burned in random locations throughout the neighborhood. All that was recognizable of her home was the stairwell leading to the basement.Her thoughts immediately turned to her husband and three children. Howard Hawes Jr. was a regular at Plainfield Family Restaurant. After discovering that her children were safe, she stopped at the restaurant on her way to her mother-in-law's home and left a message to tell "J.R." she was OK.When a priest from her family's church approached her mother-in-law's home, Nancy, who has since remarried and is now Nancy Fox, knew what he had come to tell her."Even days after, you're in shock," she said. "Our home was gone. The kids were OK, so that was good. But I really didn't have any feelings. I felt like my heart was ripped out."Howard Hawes' body was found in the parking lot of St. Mary's Immaculate Catholic Church. Fox said she does not even want to know whether he stepped out of his truck on the way home from his construction job or if the storm somehow pulled him out.Hawes was one of 29 people who died in the wake of the tornado, which cut a 12-mile swath from Plainfield, through Crest Hill and Joliet that afternoon. The path of the storm is traced on the granite memorial.Plainfield High School and St. Mary's Immaculate Church were destroyed.In the years that followed, the high school was renovated, the church and homes were rebuilt and residents moved back into new versions of their old homes. Village officials trumpeted a new beginning after heavy suffering.During the storm, Fox said she could not see anything, as the sky had gone pitch black. Meteorologists later said the tornado was rain-wrapped so it was hard to see.Instead of hitting the empty field to the west of the subdivision, it jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Fox said that made her angry."I was a little mad at God, too," she said. "I kept asking 'Why did you cut into our lives?' That was always a question."As the 20th anniversary is commemorated Saturday, Fox said she will attend a tree-planting ceremony hosted by the village at 3 p.m. Every year around this time, she says her mood changes and she starts thinking about that day. Now remarried to a former co-worker who helped her through a bout with pancreatitis, she says things have worked out in a positive way despite her painful loss."I get a little melancholy (around this time)," she said. "Life takes funny turns. Everything has a reason. But it's hard to figure out God's plan."False1256721Carol Russell displayed the American flag after bringing it up from her basement after the tornado destroyed her home.Daniel White | Staff PhotographerFalse <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Audio</h2><ul class="audio"><li><a href="/audio/kendecker.mp3">Ken Decker, retired Dist. 202 teacher and administrator </a></li><li><a href="/audio/robertsmith.mp3">Robert Smith, Plainfield High School Central Campus principal</a></li><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=404049">'That storm ... cheated us out of a mother' <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=404046">Warning system advances make Will County safer <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=403999">Will Co. emergency boss was rookie when tornado hit <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=403929">Plainfield tornado survivor: Grieving process not over <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=404123">'You can become somebody's hero' <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=404124">Ceremony will honor tornado victims <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=404131">Plainfield principal recalls finding his home destroyed <span class="date">[08/27/10]</span></a></li></ul><h2>Photo Galleries</h2><ul class="gallery"><li><a href="/story/?id=403927">Images from the 1990 Plainfield tornado </a></li></ul></div></div></div>