NORMAL – At a celebration of life memorial service held in the hotel conference center that bears her name, Carol Reitan was remembered for the various roles she played in life: Town Council member, Mayor, State Senate candidate, civic leader, wife, mother, and grandmother.
Roughly 220 people gathered in the Redbird Room of the Carol A. Reitan Conference Center to remember her and share stories on Friday, June 13. Reitan died May 12.
Many of Reitan’s list of accomplishments often were found preceded by the words “founding member,†as in having helped to found the McLean County Affordable Housing Coalition, Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, and Alternatives To Jail Community Coalition; or “board member,†as in belonging to, among others, the boards of American Association of University Women. She was also asked to be part of mapping out the community’s future, participating in helping prepare Normal’s “2015 Report.â€
Any yet, while those accomplishments were recognized, it was Carol Reitan the person who received the attention at the memorial service. “What an honor it is to celebrate her life with all of you,†said Reitan’s daughter Julia, of San Francisco. “You are her colleagues, her collaborators. I like to think of you as co-conspirators,†she added, receiving chuckles from those gathered.
“Watching people come through the door today, it reminded me of how much Mom like talking about all of you,†Julia Reitan said. “She was always talking with me about someone she was meeting with or doing something with. She really liked the people that she worked with.†Son Tom Reitan of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, explained to those gathered the event gave him a chance to meet up with “familiar faces,†some of whom were familiar to both he and his mother.
Former Mayor Paul Harmon reminded the gathering Reitan appointed him to the Normal Planning Commission in 1972. “Thereafter,†Harmon said, “She was always a mentor and supporter of most of my endeavors. But most of all, Carol was just a really good friend.†Harmon’s friendship with Earl and Carol Reitan began when Harmon and his wife, Sandra, assisted with Mrs. Reitan’s mayoral bid in 1971 and 1972.
Harmon recalled that during that election, Reitan found herself behind her challenger, realtor Hal Riss, by 50 votes with one precinct left to be counted. By the time that last precinct’s ballots had been tallied, Reitan’s campaign had discovered she had won the Mayor’s race by 100 votes. Harmon explained Reitan was campaigning, partly, on lifting a liquor sales ban, while Riss wanted Normal to remain a “dry†town.
“The last precinct was, predominately, a student precinct,†Harmon said, adding, “It was probably the only time the students of ISU have elected a mayor of Normal.†It was a line that produced smiles and some laughs.
Normal Town Council member Cheryl Gaines told the gathering Reitan went to work with her at Collaborative Solutions Institute. Gaines said Reitan was “an idea person.†There was an electric car in the corner of the room where the memorial service was held. Gaines said, “It wasn’t just the concept of an electric car that was important to Carol. It was the concept of saving energy.â€
Gaines said one observation Reitan made about herself was particularly striking. Gaines, Reitan, and the staff at their office were in the midst of a cleaning session when, Gaines explained, Reitan said she thought she “was a much better tool mule than a racehorse.â€
“That comment struck me,†Gaines told the gathering. “It speaks to what Carol’s life is about. She expected to work right next to the people she was working with, and share the load.â€
Gaines said she and Reitan loved to chat and “laugh until our jaws ached.†Gaines added she and Reitan “probably covered most of the county in search of good food,†going to as many eateries as possible.
Gwen Pruyne was a neighbor to Earl and Carol Reitan for three decades beginning in the 1950s. At that time, Reitan worked at what was then known as Illinois State Normal University. Pruyne recalled her family joining the Reitans and some other neighbors for New Year’s Day potlucks that went on for nearly 40 years, beginning in the 1960s. Pruyne said her husband joked that Carol coming across as a forward-thinking person, and looking toward the future, she might not have a fondness for traditions. Pruyne recalled turning to him and saying, “Remember – she’s married to an historian.â€
“Carol really put a crack in the glass ceiling when she ran for Mayor,†Pruyne said.
Julie Payne came to know Reitan for the last 10 years through an informal social group known as “the WW’s,†who would have dinners together somewhat regularly. During those dinners and other conversations she had with Reitan, Payne said she received some imparted wisdom. Among the things Payne said learned from her friend: Be curious; Allow curiosity and imagination to ruminate and percolate (Reitan preferred ideas that had some substance to them, Payne said.); Share your creative ideas with others because doing so could lead to learning other ideas from like-minded people.
Payne said the last thing she said she learned from Reitan was to be courageous.
Doing all these things takes action on the part of a person, Payne said. She explained taking action was a form of love on Carol Reitan’s part. “Carol lived a life of love by laying down her best ideas, her time, her talent, and her energy to make this place we call home a better place for everyone.â€
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