Passing of a valued colleague

It was with great sadness that we learned of the June 25, 2019 death of our dear friend and fellow board member Judy Beck.   Judy was a member of the LWV UMRR Board since we organized in 2015, and her leadership helped us find our way as we started out.   Judy was also on the Board of LWV Lake Michigan Region ILO and served as federal action liaison between the groups.  We benefited from her warmth, wise counsel, and ability to provide context for all that we do. 

Judy received a BA degree in Biology from Old Dominion University and worked professionally as a teacher and as Lake Michigan Manager for the US Environmental Protection Agency for 30 years. In addition to her professional work and work with the LWV, Judy tirelessly volunteered her time as a founding member of Save the Grove, as a member and officer of the Grove Heritage Association, as a councilperson for the Northern Illinois Planning Commission, and as a past president of the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Upon retiring as the longest serving Board Member of the Glenview Park District, a park was named "Judy Beck Park" in her honor. 

In addition, Judy served as a representative to the LWV Lake Michigan Region board from the Illinois LWV. She represented LWV LMR to Chicago Wilderness, a group spanning the four Lake Michigan states working to preserve and improve nature in our region. Judy managed the Watershed Fact Sheet project with LWV Wisconsin. She was the recipient of LWV LMR's Palleon Advocacy Award in 2016. 

Judy was and will continue to be a role model and an inspiration to us.  This link takes you to the video of a talk that Judy gave at the LWV Water Caucus meeting in Chicago in 2018.  The picture above was taken at the LWV UMRR Annual Meeting in Hastings, MN, on June 1 2019.  Thanks to Judy's advocacy, Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig came and spoke at this meeting.  In this picture, Judy is introducing Representative Craig.   The photo below shows Judy and LWV Glenview's Henrietta Saunders in consultation.  

A memorial service will be held on July 26th at 1 pm at The Grove, Redfield House, 1421 Milwaukee Rd., Glenview, IL.  Here's a link for her full obituary.