Carpentersville Trustee Schultz dies at 61

In the years since Trustee Pat Schultz started becoming involved in Carpentersville, former Village President Ed Ritter says she began almost every thought with one key phrase: "Our residents need ..."

"That was the first thing on her mind at all times," Ritter said. "In my 16 years at the village, I never had anybody who was more of a village supporter or a harder worker for the residents."

Schultz, a Carpentersville resident for more than 50 years, died early Monday at 61, village officials said. She had been elected to her third four-year term as trustee last spring and was on various village committees.

"It was a total shock," said Ritter, who had met Schultz for breakfast days earlier.

Schultz would often attend meetings and speak out about the village's finances when Ritter was first elected to the village board, he said. After the economy crashed, she became involved in a group that would clean up yards of abandoned houses.

"That's when I really got to meet her and work directly with her," Ritter said. "She was a tax hawk, always watching out for the village's finances."

While serving as a trustee, Schultz often challenged staff on proposals to raise fees or taxes for residents, Village Manager Mark Rooney said. She was also responsible for launching a special events commission, and she organized several festivals, such as a Civil War re-enactment, to draw more visitors to Carpentersville.

"Pat was always concerned that any service provided by the village was done at the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible to lessen the burden to the citizen taxpayer," Rooney said. "(She) was a dedicated public servant who had a good heart."

Public visitation for Schultz will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at Miller Funeral Home, 504 W. Main St. in West Dundee. The funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon Friday, Oct. 20, also at the funeral home, with burial in Dundee Township East Cemetery at routes 25 and 72.