IL SR0994

Joan Callahan of Waukegan died on May 1, 2009; she was born December 4, 1928 in Racine, Wisconsin and married Harold R. Callahan on October 22, 1949.

Earned her real estate license in 1969 and co-founded Callahan Blandings Schaper Realtors, retiring in 1989 after 20 years in the business.

Served as founding member and past president of the Waukegan Community Players and was elected to three 6-year terms on the Waukegan Park District Board, serving as its president.

Active in community organizations including the Waukegan Schools Foundation, Lake County Crimestoppers, Waukegan Garden Club, and environmental groups; spearheaded Liberty Elm replanting efforts in Waukegan in the late 1990s.

Illinois Senate expresses condolences to her surviving family: seven children (Joe, Peter, Jay, Melissa, Charlotte, Shelagh, and Amy) and eleven grandchildren.