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Jane Elson Amorosi
Born: August 19, 1923
Died: January 6, 2021
Jane and her husband, Alfred Amorosi, moved to Downers Grove, Illinois in 1967, and Jane lived in the same home until her death at the age of 97 years. They were some of the original residents of Dearborn Parkway, and Jane was creative with the landscaping of their yard, using berms for privacy. She enjoyed her neighborhood and neighbors over the years.
Jane grew up with her older brother Lee, in the small town of Corydon, Iowa. Her mother, Eleanor Bemis, was a schoolteacher, and her father, Charles Elson, was a lawyer and a politician. During the depression, as children, they ate homegrown vegetables and fresh milk from their cow, to which Jane attributed her good health.
Jane earned a scholarship to Drake University, which she attended during the war years. She graduated with high honors in 1945 with a BS in Economics. After college, she worked briefly for the US Department of Labor and later for US News and World Report in Washington D.C. It was in D.C. that she met her husband to be, at All Saints Unitarian Church, where they played tennis together. Shortly after they married, they moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he was part of the design team for the first nuclear powered submarine and she became involved in the League of Woman Voters to educate the public on the uses of atomic energy.
While raising her four children and supporting Al in his career, Jane stayed involved in local politics, conservation, land use, the environment and had a keen interest in a wide range of other subjects. She was passionate about preserving open spaces from development and was part of a group instrumental in saving Lyman Woods. She was sometimes the lone voice that spoke out at a meeting, impacting outcomes.
Various travels she made with Al, family and friends both in the U.S. and overseas were some of her fondest memories. She enjoyed playing tennis and was pretty competitive. She enjoyed taking in cultural events in Chicago as well as locally. Getting outside for a walk at a forest preserve and learning about local plants and trees were favorite pass-times.
To overcome the grief of losing their oldest son to mental illness, Jane and Al founded along with others, the Schizophrenia Association of West Suburb Chicago, the first self-help group for mentally ill persons and their families in Illinois. They also explored other avenues for coping with mental illness such as orthomolecular psychiatry.
Jane is survived by her three remaining children: Barbara Joan Flanagin, Sue Amorosi (Bill Roberds) and Steve Amorosi (Gayle French). Her eight grandchildren: Virginia, Eleanor (Joseph Lev) and Alfred Flanagin; Anna, Lia and Alaena Roberds and Clara and Livia Amorosi as well as her two great grandchildren Irving and Jerome Lev, brought her great pride and joy.
She never missed a day of reading the Chicago Tribune and spent her final years enjoying the animal wildlife in her backyard with the help of her kind care givers Ruth and Valentina.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Downers Grove Choral Society, P.O. Box 655, DG 60515 or the Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance, P.O. Box 422, D.G. 60515. For information about the memorial service or to mail cards, please contact: Sue Amorosi, 547 11th Ave W, Kirkland, WA 98033.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1 Entry
Thinking of you during this difficult time
Dorothy
January 18, 2021
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