Local family remembers other side of infamous Dillinger associate

Rolling Meadows resident Winifred Peterson still remembers the day nearly 75 years ago when she found out her uncle had died.

As Peterson tells it, her father threw the day's newspaper onto the kitchen table and grimly said, "Well, they got him."

Peterson's uncle was Lester Gillis, better known by his nickname, Baby Face Nelson. He died on Nov. 27, 1934, hours after being shot by FBI agents in a shootout near Northwest Highway in Barrington. Peterson's father, Edmund Gillis, was Lester's brother.

Lester Gillis was part of a group of Depression-era gangsters and bank robbers who have since became almost mythic figures - people like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and the team of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

Their exploits have once again reached the forefront of the public imagination because of "Public Enemies," the new Michael Mann film about Dillinger.

Peterson seems like the last person who could possibly be related to an infamous criminal. The 84-year-old grandmother spoke about her uncle from her kitchen, which is adorned with pictures of her children and grandchildren, as well as Winnie the Pooh figurines that are a reference to her family nickname.

"Lester was the only one in the family who got involved in that kind of thing," Peterson said. "He fell into the wrong crowd. I think he was someone who was easily led."

Like Dillinger, who was his partner-in-crime for awhile, Gillis has been a mainstay of Hollywood gangster movies over the years. Mickey Rooney played him in 1957's "Baby Face Nelson," and C. Thomas Howell did the honors in a 1995 film of the same name. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen included a broadly farcical take on Gillis in their 2000 comedy "O Brother, Where Art Thou."

Most of the films have depicted Gillis as a trigger-happy, coldblooded killer. Peterson remembers him differently. She said that when around the family, Gillis was soft-spoken and even sweet.

"I remember that he liked my mother a lot, so he would come over to our house and offer to do chores," Peterson said.

Peterson adds that Gillis was quite devoted to his own family, which included his wife, Helen, and two children.

"Aunt Helen was always very personable. I remember her wavy, auburn hair. It reminded me of my mother's," Peterson said.

While she saw a different side of Gillis than is generally known, Peterson doesn't deny or excuse the crimes he committed. According to the FBI's Web site, Gillis was involved in a series of bank robberies in the early 1930s. He also was suspected of several murders, including the slaying of Special FBI Agent W. Carter Baum. Two other agents died after exchanging fire with Gillis and his longtime partner, John Paul Chase, during the Barrington shootout that ultimately claimed Gillis' life.

"Everyone remembers these (Depression-era criminals), but people don't remember the fallen agents," said Schaumburg resident Joan Duczman, Peterson's daughter. "That's something I feel bad about."

Gillis' crimes, and the publicity they inspired, took a toll on the family, Peterson said. Her father, whom she describes as scrupulously honest, was hurt deeply by his brother's actions, she said. Peterson's two older brothers also took it hard, as they had to hear taunts about their uncle at school.

"My father really didn't want our family to be marked by this," Peterson said. "He was so honest, so straight."

Duczman said she remembers her grandfather Edmund as a stern disciplinarian.

"It was like he wanted to make sure no one else in the family would ever take that path," she said, adding that the remaining members of the family are "honest, straightforward, religious squares."

Duczman first learned about her relationship to "Baby Face" when she was in junior high. Since then, it has been a subject of fascination for her. She has tried to read all the books and see all the movies about her great-uncle she can.

"No one in the family talked about it," Duczman said. "I think it was brave of my mom to finally tell us."

The diminutive Gillis - the FBI site says he stood 5 feet, 4 inches tall - was part of Dillinger's bank-robbing gang for a short time in 1934. As such, he appears in "Public Enemies," the new Dillinger flick starring Johnny Depp (Gillis is played by British actor Stephen Graham).

Duczman plans to see "Public Enemies," though she doesn't expect it to offer a nuanced picture of her great-uncle. She hopes that a great Lester Gillis biopic one day gets made, one that shows the softer, human side of him along with the criminal side.