Rosemary Sammons (1943-2025)
Rosemary Sammons, age 82, passed away at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee on May 21, 2025. She had spent the past few years fighting a courageous battle against acute myeloid leukemia. She was born to the late William and Amelia (Leinweber) Schuhart on March 19, 1943 in Oshkosh. She married Bruce "Mike" Sammons on January 22, 1966.
Rosemary was a lifelong resident of Oshkosh. She was an honors student at Oshkosh High School and graduated in 1961. She was an outstanding homemaker and a secretary for her family's business, Sammons Plumbing.
Heather Marie McMeekan (1968-2024)
Well-known activist Heather Marie McMeekan, 56, died October 6, 2024, at Carle Methodist Hospital in Peoria, Illinois, surrounded by family and friends after a brief illness and complications from surgery.
Heather was born in 1968 in Lake Ridge, Illinois to Iris and George Platt. During her religion-affiliated junior high school years, she and classmates were repeatedly harassed and abused and the perpetrators got off despite being brought to trial. This situation where her dad was also a school board member became a movie filmed about it called "Cast the First Stone" in 1989. She was one of the most long-lived of the students in that class and forever retained an abiding passion for being the adult she needed during her tumultuous early years. She graduated from Marengo High School then received a B.A. in General Studies from Western Illinois University in 1990 and later a M.S. in Health EducationCommunity Health in 2000.
Janet Fitch (1946-2023)
Janet Louise Fitch, age 77, of Milwaukee, passed away after a short but intensive bout with cancer, on December 20, 2023. She leaves behind countless close confidantes, all of whom had their life directly enhanced by Janet’s emotional depth, hearty spirit, and creative spark.
Janet was a loving daughter to Ervin and Margaret Jankowski, and a big-hearted sister to Tom, Evelyn, Michael, Roger, Kathy, and Allan (Pawlicki). Her childhood antics, adventures, and mishaps earned Janet nicknames such as “Janko” and “Crash.”
Jean Tracy (1941-2022)
Dr. Jean Tracy, 81, of Elmhurst, IL, passed away on November 29, 2022 .
Jean was born on March 14, 1941 to Imogene and Ruben Fechner, Sr. in Waco, TX. Dr. Tracy earned both her B.A.(1962) and Ph.D.(1971) from Texas Christian University, where she met her husband, Robert J. Tracy, and after graduating, they moved to Elmhurst where she has been a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois since1981, and raised their 2 children, Kathryn and Cynthia. She has been named a distinguished faculty member in 1972, at Elmhurst College, where she taught psychology as a professor. She was named an outstanding educator in 1993, by the students of Forrest Institute of Professional Psychology, where she was a clinical professor. Dr. Tracy also practiced martial arts for over many years, during which she attained her 2nd Degree Black Belt.
Kathy Salzano (1964-2021)
Kathy Salzano, 57, of Elmhurst. IL, passed away on February 3rd, 2021, surrounded by family and friends.
Kathy, born to Jean & Robert Tracy in Texas, immediately brought joy and laughter into the world. Kathy went on to graduate from York Community High School as an honor student. After graduating from high school, Kathy went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Spanish Linguistics.
Bonnie Gudat (1944-2018)
CHILLICOTHE - Avid gardener, inspired cook, music maker, mother of three, grandmother of four and step-grandmother of four, with one step-great-grandchild, Bonnie Ruth Gudat of Chillicote, passed away on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Bonnie was born on July 24, 1944, to parents, Milton and Ellen Holmes Eastman. Shortly after his daughter's birth, Sargent Eastman was shipped to the Pacific and he didn't meet young Bonnie, with her blond curls and bright blue eyes, until World War II ended and she was a year old.
Bonnie met her husband-to-be, Adam Gudat, at the University of Illinois. They married in Western Springs, Illinois, in 1966. Then they packed their wedding gifts and belongings into Bonnie's old station wagon and camped their way west, crossing the Rockies and settling into their new home in Los Angeles. The deserts and mountains of California became the weekend getaway for Adam and Bonnie and a band of Adam's fellow Hughes Aircraft engineers and spouses, who camped with little more than sleeping bags and tarps.
Emily Meter (1935-2009)
Emily Eanswythe Custer Meter passed away peacefully, surrounded by friends, on Dec. 14, 2009. She was born on March 11, 1935 to Dorothy and Howard Custer in San Jose, CA. During her childhood she lived in Northern California, Greenbelt Maryland, and Wisconsin.
She met her future husband Donald Meter at the Channing-Murray House at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the two were married in 1961 at the First Unitarian Society of Madison. The church was special to Emily because she had been one of the volunteer stone-haulers who helped construct the Frank Lloyd Wright designed building.