Developer, attorney Thelin left lasting mark on Aurora and Batavia
Cal Thelin left his stamp on the communities of Aurora and Batavia as an attorney, a developer and a volunteer.
The former Aurora city attorney assisted in the formation of the Aurora Civic Authority and Paramount Arts Center, and was a founder of the Batavia Park District.
He died Sunday, Nov. 28, after spending Thanksgiving weekend with his family and grandchildren. He was 92.
"Cal was a very kind, very nice person," said Helen Thelin, his wife of 64 years. "He was intelligent. He was adventurous. He was a wonderful husband and a wonderful father. And I might also say a wonderful lawyer."
Thelin grew up in Oak Park and served as a staff legal officer in the Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant while aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge in the Pacific during the Korean War.
In 1957, Thelin earned his law degree from Northwestern University, where he met his wife, who was studying for her master's degree and would eventually work as a speech therapist. The two were married between Cal's last exam and graduation.
The two lived in Evanston before moving to Aurora, where he worked for the law firm of Petersen and Goldsmith, eventually becoming a partner in the firm of Goldsmith, Thelin, Schiller and Dickson.
Thelin became attorney for Aurora as well, representing the city on such matters as the downtown street lighting program.
He also became involved in the community as a volunteer, serving on the board of directors for Aurora University and as president of the Greater Aurora Chamber of Commerce. He belonged to the Aurora Lions Club and Congregational Church of Batavia.
In 2011, he was recognized for 50 years of service as an Aurora Noon Lion.
He also joined the Du Kane Valley council planning committee to make recommendations for development in the Fox Valley.
Moving to Batavia, he helped create the Batavia Park District.
In 2007, the Thelin Family Endowment Fund was established to support community needs focused on education and the arts.
Thelin was active in commercial real estate and developed several residential subdivisions, including the Horseshoe Drive development in Batavia. As part of the Mill Creek Development Co., he also developed the Mill Creek residential development on a 10-acre site at Route 31 and Millview Drive in Batavia.
"His vision and persistence allowed him to create a lot of things," said his daughter, Louise Atac, who worked with her father in the Mill Creek development group.
"He was tenacious," added his daughter, Elizabeth Zinser.
His commercial real estate work included an office building at 1444 N. Farnsworth Ave. in Aurora that he bought in the mid-1990s.
His wife said one of his hobbies was painting landscapes.
"He liked art and he was a good artist, although he never saved anything he ever did," she said, adding that her husband also enjoyed travel and swimming in the Batavia Quarry Pool.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Dec. 26, at the Congregational Church of Batavia.