Former Hawthorn Woods mayor Douglas Challos dies at 69

Former Hawthorn Woods Mayor Douglas Challos was remembered Wednesday as a kind man who entered politics for the right reasons.

Challos, 69, died last week. In addition to serving as Hawthorn Woods’ mayor from 1991 to 1995, he was a Navy commander.

Hawthorn Woods Chief Administrative Officer Donna Lobaito, a longtime employee, worked with Challos while he was the village’s top elected official. She said Challos was a man with “a heart of gold” who got into local politics because he wanted to serve the community.

Lobaito said Challos, whose military tenure included duties as a Great Lakes Naval Station public affairs officer, was known for visiting village hall and asking how the employees were doing out of genuine concern for them.

“He was a terrific man,” Lobaito said Wednesday.

John Kalmar was Hawthorn Woods’ top administrator when Challos was mayor. Now assistant village manager in Vernon Hills, Kalmar remembered Challos as a man with a big heart who was especially proud of his naval career.

“He thought a great deal about the village of Hawthorn Woods and he enjoyed the community on so many different levels,” Kalmar said.

Challos was elected as a trustee in 1989 and appointed acting mayor after Glen Greishaber resigned in 1991. He was elected to a four-year term in 1993, but quit in April 1995 hours before a majority of opposition village board trustees were ready to ask him to step down over a dispute regarding the proposed northward extension of Route 53.

Trustees and Challos were divided over Hawthorn Woods’ role in fighting the possibility of Route 53 going through the village. He endorsed a group of unsuccessful challengers in the April 1995 election over the incumbents, who disagreed with his push to rejoin the Route 53 Corridor Planning Council so the village could have a voice in the issue.

Before joining the Hawthorn Woods village board in 1989, Challos was known as an outspoken resident and president of the Acorn Acres Homeowners Association.

Visitation for Challos will be 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 149 E. Terra Cotta Ave., in Barrington. A second visitation at the funeral home is set for Friday at 9:30 a.m., followed by a funeral service there 30 minutes later.

Challos’ survivors include his daughter, Courtney Flynn, and son Brett. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elaine.