Mount Prospect leaders pay tribute to former clerk

The Mount Prospect village board paid tribute this week to Village Clerk Lisa Angell, who died last month at age 62 of pancreatic cancer.

With Angell's children, Brian and Kathryn, standing at the podium, Mayor Arlene Juracek fought back tears as she read a resolution declaring a day in the longtime clerk's honor.

Following the ceremony, the board read a proclamation that Juracek said is "so coincidentally related it is breathtaking," on behalf of World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

The proclamation mentioned Angell's 28 years with the village, beginning in the public works department, continuing with her promotion to solid waste and environmental services coordinator in 1991 and culminating in her appointment to the post of village clerk in 2005.

It mentioned her achievements, including her earning a Shining Star award at the village's 1998 Celestial Celebration for her role in the village's "Waste Not, Want Not" program, as well as her part in developing a recycling program. She often referred to herself as "the village's official dumpster diver."

Angell's cheerful smile and dedication - she walked to the office every day and rarely missed work in her 28 years, even when dealing with cancer - also were remembered.

Trustee Paul Hoefert, a charter member of the recycling commission and a trustee since 1991, said he and his wife were able to visit Angell the day before she passed away.

"She kept saying to Linda and I what an honor it was to work for the village, what an honor it was to know the board and to live in the village," Hoefert said. "I just kept thinking - and I told her this - that the honor was all ours. She (knew) her situation and she was expressing gratitude and honor toward us when all of it should have been heading her way."

Trustee Michael Zadel said he also visited.

"She had the ability to make me feel better at a time like that," he recalled. "To me that just speaks volumes about her attitude, her presence, her spirit, and that's something that will certainly stay with me all of my life."

"There are no words to describe what a wonderful, wonderful woman she was," Zadel added. "She certainly had a big impact on this village."