Ex-Naperville council member Ellingson recalled for local involvement
Mary Leonard Ellingson wanted her life to make a difference. So she got involved where she knew her actions could have the biggest impact: at the local level.
A Naperville City Council member for 12 years, notable for her efforts in planning the city's millennium celebration and her performances in the Naperville Municipal Band, Mary died Friday in Indianapolis. She was 77.
"Mary has always had the philosophy that the important things from a governmental point of view in people's lives was what happened locally," her husband said. "That had been her mantra forever."
She was born Oct. 8, 1938, in Carroll, Iowa. She married Bill Ellingson 55 years ago and the couple had two daughters and three grandchildren.
With her family, Mary lived in Iowa, Washington state and Downers Grove before moving to Naperville in 1983.
In Naperville, she taught private flute lessons out of her home near Royce Road and got involved with the League of Women Voters. Her husband said she eventually was asked to run for city council to give a voice to residents of the city's growing south side.
She took the challenge and despite battling breast cancer during election season, she won a seat in 1995.
"She was a very strong person," Ellingson said.
On the council, she pushed for planting trees along streets to calm traffic and she valued creation of small gathering places where people could congregate. In the late 1990s, Mary began planning for Naperville to ring in the new millennium in style with a three-day festival called Celebration 2000.
The event included a ball drop at midnight, fireworks, a torch lighting, concerts, dinners, dances, parades, ice sculptures, retrospectives and student essay contests. It was recognized in a White House brochure about how communities were marking the milestone year.
Recently, Ellingson said his wife worked with Naper Settlement to ensure artifacts from the celebration are preserved.
"She was an incredibly organized person," he said. "She wanted it to be properly archived."
Mary joined the Indianapolis Municipal Band once she moved from Naperville, and she remained a member until her death.
"Music was always huge in Mary's life," her husband said.
The family is planning a memorial service this spring. Memorial contributions can be made to the Naperville Municipal Band, P.O. Box 474, Naperville, IL 60566.