Schaumburg bids heartfelt farewell to village’s longest-serving, most influential mayor
Friends, colleagues, and fellow local leaders paid their final respects to former Schaumburg mayor Al Larson Friday during a visitation at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts on the municipal campus, demonstrating his lifelong belief that government should serve the better needs of people and their culture.
Larson, who served the village for 32 years as mayor after 12 years as a trustee, died Tuesday at the age of 85.
“He lived and breathed Schaumburg,” said longtime friend and Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod. “He really set the standard for Schaumburg and leadership in general.”
Larson’s role in helping transform the Northwest suburbs into a destination for business, shopping and cultural opportunities is a legacy that goes beyond the borders of his own village, McLeod added.
“He was a role model for me and others,” Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes agreed. “I always felt and feel that we had the same approach in putting family first. He made Schaumburg a place for families.”
Former Schaumburg Township Supervisor Mary Wroblewski said Larson recognized and nurtured her potential for political leadership in the community.
“My whole life would have been different,” she said of getting to know him. “I had no idea what to do.”
Lynn Nitzu was a benefits coordinator for the village of Schaumburg from 1986 to 2006 and witnessed his transformation from unlikely winner of the 1987 mayoral race to a confident leader of the community.
“He got better,” she said. “He was such a visionary. I have a lot of happy memories of him. He had a wonderful sense of humor.”
Rob Pileckis, production supervisor at the arts center that bears Larson’s name, recalled the longtime mayor’s deep love of classical music that led to the creation of the village’s Youth Orchestra. On its international tours that he accompanied to Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan, the Czech Republic, Hungary, England and France, Larson’s knowledge of history and culture was a valuable resource to the young performers.
“He was probably one of the brightest self-taught people I’ve ever known,” Pileckis said. “He really was a hero to me.”
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg returned from Washington, D.C. Friday afternoon and headed directly to the visitation.
“Mayor Larson served the people and village of Schaumburg for more than three decades with distinction, combining his experience in business with a deep commitment to public service,” he said. “I was proud to have Mayor Lawson not only as a constituent, but even more meaningfully, as my mayor and friend.”
Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig tried to spell out what made his friend so special as a leader and a person.
“He was about good governance, cared for the people in his community, and made a difference where he could with great spirit,” Craig said.
His wife, Sherry, a former village clerk in Hanover Park, was still weeping on her departure from the visitation.
“It’s just hard,” she said. “We did so much together.”
Schaumburg Park District President Bob Schmidt said there was one driving impulse that made Larson such a transformative force for the entire village.
“Dedication to the community,” he said. “That’s it.”