Longtime Inverness resident, devoted to lifelong learning
To celebrate her 90th birthday, Eileen M. Meadors had only one wish: to visit the newly dedicated World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Her husband, the late Col. Howard C. Meadors, had served with the Fifth Army, headquartered in Chicago, before going into the war. Mrs. Meadors wanted to see his sacrifices, and that of all veterans, visibly honored.
Her two daughters, Gayle Meadors of Inverness and Linda Meadors of Moline, not only made it happen, but they arranged for her to be received in the offices of Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Mark Kirk.
"She was so up on world affairs, and so concerned about what was happening with veterans -- and the World War II Memorial, and why it took so long -- that she wanted to meet with her congressmen," Linda Meadors says.
The visits took place two years ago over the Memorial Day weekend. Mrs. Meadors met personally with Kirk in his office while Obama's offfice presented her with a flag that had been flown over the Capitol on her 90th birthday, just two weeks earlier.
Now, family members are cherishing memories from that trip, as Mrs. Meadors passed away on Christmas Day. The former 53-year resident of Inverness was 92.
Mrs. Meadors met her husband in high school, and attended the University of Illinois with him, before they married in 1935. Following his years at John Marshall Law School and subsequent military service, he became a founding partner of Hewitt Associates, an international human resources consulting firm.
The couple met Arthur McIntosh, whose company was developing 10 farms in Inverness, and he persuaded them to check out the 1-acre rural lots. In 1953, they built one of the first homes alongside the Inverness Golf Club.
With his business and legal background, Mr. Meadors became involved in the community, serving as president of the Inverness Association in 1959, just before the village incorporated in 1962. He also served on the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board for 18 years.
During these years, his wife stayed in the background, raising the couple's four children and helping with school fundraising efforts. During the late 1960s, however, she returned to work as an accountant at the University of Illinois in Chicago, which allowed her to take one college class a semester.
She eventually quit her job to return to college full time, earning her degree in 1970, in political science.
Family members say she inspired her children and grandchildren with her commitment to lifelong learning, and ability to overcome life's obstacles.
"I think everyone would agree that she was the strongest person in the family," Gayle Meadors says, "with tremendous willpower and a very strong sense of what was right and wrong."
Besides her two daughters, Mrs. Meadors is survived by her two sons, Howard of Ocean, N.J.; and Thomas of Janesville, Wis., as well as six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, in 1976, and an infant son, Robert.
A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Jan. 12 at the First United Methodist Church, 123 N. Plum Grove Road in Palatine.