In Memoriam

Willie Wells • Barb Sjostrom • Betty Johnson • Dorothy Espenscheid •
Dorothy Delman • Margaret Kennedy • Lois Kramer • Polly Berg

Willie Wells
February 3, 2008

WILLIE MAE, MOM MAE, AUNT MAE WELLS, 83 ROCKFORD - Willie Mae, Mom Mae, Aunt Mae Wells, 83, of Rockford departed this earthly life Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, in SwedishAmerican Hospital after a brief illness. She was born April 12, 1924, in Tylertown, Miss., the daughter of Burl and Lavonne Jefferson. She lived in Rockford since 1953 coming from Jackson, Miss. She married Walter Wells in 1944 in Jackson. She was last employed as a safe deposit clerk by AMCORE Bank for more than 20 years before retiring in 1989. Willie Mae was an active member of Allen Chapel AME Church, serving as a trustee, president of the Nora Taylor Missionary Society for 14 years, Willing Workers Club, Trustee Aid Club, North Area Chicago Conference YPD director, Rededication Commission of the Debutants and Masters of Chicago Conference. She was a life member of the Women's Missionary Society, former member of the Allen Chapel Gospel Choir, Sunday school teacher, current chairperson of the Class Leaders of Allen Chapel AME Church and Church Women United, serving as past president for one year. She was a volunteer at St. Elizabeth Social Center Soup Kitchen and Emmanuel Lutheran Church Soup Kitchen. She was a member of the NAACP, served as an election judge and was a member of the Rock River Development Corporation, serving as secretary. She graduated from high school in Mississippi and later attended Campbell College in Jackson. Willie Mae leaves to cherish many loving memories, her devoted and loving husband, Walter Wells; daughter, Joyce (Fred) Oakes; grandchildren, Karla (Jorge) Garcia, Brian Bass, Jeffrey (Esmeralda) Oakes and Vickie Williams; great-grand-children, Patrick Oakes, Ashley Hearn, Brandon Hearn, Keegan Oakes, Lindsey Garcia, Ryan Williams, Jordan Ferro, Justin Ferro and Noah Garcia; special nieces, Earline, Vera, Jacqueline Mannery and Alberta Whitaker; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends, including adopted grandchildren, Arlene (Michael) Clyburn-Miller, William (Dolly) Hearn and Lisa Ferro; godchildren, Diane (Earl) Simon-Dotson, Robert Box and Sharon (Corey) Redmond. Predeceased by parents; three sisters; five brothers; godchild, Douglas Zackery; and special nephew, Austin Mannery. The family would like to thank the fourth-floor Heart Hospital nursing staff, Drs. Ahtesham Hyder, Jagdeep Sabharwal and Allen Williams. Service at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in Allen Chapel AME Church, 3000 Rural St., with Pastor Virgil M. Woods officiating. Entombment in Sunset Memorial Gardens. Viewing from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, in Allen Chapel. Family will receive guests from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Arrangements completed by Carl E. Ponds Funeral Home, 2429 W. State St. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Allen Chapel Building Fund.

Published in the rrstar.com from 2/7/2008 - 2/13/2008.

Barbara Fenner 'Barb' Sjostrom
June 17, 2007

BARBARA FENNER 'BARB' SJOSTROM, 57 ROCKFORD - Barbara Fenner "Barb" Sjostrom, 57, of Rockford died peacefully at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 17, 2007, in her home. Born July 9, 1949, in Palo Alto, Calif., to John and Dorothy Fenner. Barb has left her mark on the world around her. She graduated from Stanford University in 1971 and moved to Rockford, where her lifelong career and passion was helping others. She and her husband, Mark, were married in 1973 in Charlotte's Web. Barb took an active interest in everyone she met, always showing genuine concern for others over her own problems. Barb brought out the best in people and always received the best in return. She touched many lives. Her family and friends thrived on her courage, strength and positive thinking. Her active membership in numerous organizations and volunteering for community projects that brought people together for a greater good is what made her happy. The immediate sadness of the loss of her physical being is heartbreaking, but her goodness and our memories will let us remember her with a smile in our hearts forever. Survivors include her husband of 34 years, Mark Sjostrom of Rockford; parents, John and Dorothy Fenner of Corvallis, Ore.; brothers, Thomas (Randi) of Los Altos, Calif., David (Elisabeth) of Seattle; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and many close friends throughout her professional career and personal life. Barb's husband, Mark, would like to thank ACT Medical Group and all of Barb's friends for their love, support, help and kindness throughout the bad and the good times. Respecting Barb's wishes, no service in Rockford is scheduled. A gathering of close friends is planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the family for a memorial to be established at a later date. Arrangements by Julian-Poorman-Welte Funeral Home. For more information or to sign the register online, visit weltefuneral.com.

Betty Johnson
June 2007

Betty Johnson passed away in Florida. She was famous for her dedication to the safety of Northern Illinois citizens during the construction and approval process of the Commonweath Edison Nuclear Power Plant at Byron, Illinois in the 1970's.

Memories of her:
Stanley Campbell, secretary, Rockford Peace & Justice Action Committee

Betty Johnson, long time Rockford, Illinois League of Women Voter member, passed away in her daughter's home in Florida. She'd suffered from Alzheimer's for almost seven years.

Betty was very active in her church's peace group and got them to co-sponsore our local Hiroshima commemoration, which prays for no more nuclear bombings. Betty was a powerhouse with the League of Women Voters, and was on every environmental committee in the city.

Betty talked Sinnissippi Alliance for the Environment (SAFE) into intervening against the licensing of the Byron Nuclear Plant. We won some good concessions from ComEd. It’s now one of the safest nukes in the country (but still very dangerous, and, as Betty would ask, where’s the waste?).

Betty's spirit helped this world be a better place. Rockford Peace & Justice Action Committee will remember her at this year's Hiroshima Commemoration, Monday, August 6, at 7pm at JustGoods listening room, 201 Seventh St.

Betty Johnson was a powerhouse of environmental information, always active and pushing to preserve the air, water, and land. Breathe deeply and enjoy a clean glass of water while you can, the earth will miss her.

Jane Whicher, former attorney against the Byron Nuke:
The First Thing I Learned from Betty Johnson

I learned many things from Betty during the years we were fighting the Byron Nuclear Plant. I learned patience, determination, and optimism in the face of overwhelming odds. But the first lesson was this: don't let appearances fool you.

In about 1980, I was a young (and some might say radical) lawyer working at a public interest firm in Chicago. I had done a fair amount of anti-nuclear licensing litigation, and I was contacted by folks in Rockford about representing them in their opposition to the nuclear power plant then being built at Byron. One of the groups that asked to meet with me was the Rockford League of Women Voters.

I could not for the life of me figure out what the League was doing opposing a nuclear plant, but I agreed to meet with them. When they arrived – headed of course by Betty – my heart sank, my worst fears in the form of a half-dozen League members marching ahead of me into the conference room. Here they were, kindly middle aged women dressed in sensible business suits. Every one of them was carrying a shopping bag: Marshall Field's, Saks Fifth Avenue – I believe Betty's was from Lord & Taylor. I sat down with them wondering how to discuss nuclear plant licensing issues with these Rockford women who had come to Chicago to go shopping on Michigan Avenue.

Betty introduced herself and her cohorts, reached down into her Lord & Taylor bag, and started pulling out documents she had obtained from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission detailing construction problems at the plant. She stacked them on the table and began a highly sophisticated and detailed analysis of evacuation planning, welding, water hammers, open cycle cooling systems, and ended with a passionate plea for legal help. My jaw dropped, and my heart soared. How could I say no? This was the client I'd been waiting for.

So thank you, Betty, for your gentle lesson: do not be fooled by gray-haired women with shopping bags. They can change the world.

Jane Whicher
Port Townsend, Washington

Dorothy Espenscheid
June 8, 2007

on June 1, 2007 Dorothy happily accepted he Mildred Berry Award from the League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford. She very active in the Natural Resources Committee.

DOROTHY SHARP 'DOTTIE' ESPENSCHEID ROCKFORD - Dorothy Sharp "Dottie" Espenscheid, a lifelong Rockford resident, left us Friday, June 8, 2007. The daughter of Cyril and Clara Sharp. Graduated from Central High, class of 1936 and from the University of Illinois, class of 1940. Member of League of Women Voters and Bethesda Church for many years. Our mother played tennis with a wonderful group of women and served in various capacities with organizations and people dedicated to making Rockford a better city. She loved her friends and was loved in return. Survived by husband, Harry; children, Fletcher, Richard (Patricia) and Mary (Robert); three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; brothers, William and Dick Sharp. Respecting her wishes, there will be no service.

Dorothy Delman
June 4, 2007

On Monday, June 4, 2007, former Rockford College Professor Dorothy Delman passed away in the Chicago area. Professor Delman was a member of the Rockford College faculty for 24 years, retiring in 1992 as professor and chair of the Sociology/Anthropology department. During her career she served as the Chair of the Division of Social Studies from 1975 to 1980; she developed a Criminal Justice undergraduate curriculum in 1988; and a Social Work undergraduate curriculum in the 1992-93 school year. She was instrumental in introducing a Criminal Justice component to the MBA program. An active supporter of the Howard Colman Library and Criminal Justice area, Professor Delman received Rockford College’s Award of Distinction in 1986. In 2004, the Reporting and Assessment Center at the Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center was named for Professor Delman in recognition of her service to local law enforcement and criminal justice. Also in 2004, Professor Delman received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the President’s Opening Convocation.

Professor Delman was recognized with the Dr. Mildred Berry Award for Education, given by the YWCA, in 1990 and was a Rockford Register Star Role Model in 1992. Nominated by a student, the Register Star noted her ‘enthusiasm in returning to college in her 40s and now, as a professor at Rockford College, her support of other returning students.’ She received the Service Above Self Award from the Rockford Downtown Rotary in 1993.

After attending Rockford College for two years (1938-40), Professor Delman graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Political Science in 1942. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Twenty-one years after graduating from Smith, Professor Delman returned to school. A divorced mother of two daughters, she commuted 100 miles a day from her home in Sioux City to the University of South Dakota where she received her M.A. in Sociology. She earned her PhD in Sociology from University of Iowa.

Dorothy was a faithful member of both the Education Committee and the International Committee and an all round faithful League member. We shall miss her very much and extend our sympathies to her family and friends.

Services will take place in Sioux City, Iowa and a memorial service for Professor Delman’s friends and colleagues is being planned