Jane Shillington Obituary

Jane Shillington

(nee Seed)

Jane Shillington (nee Seed) ended her several-years-long fight with cancer and quietly passed away at the age of 82 on August 5th in Downers Grove.

Jane sorely missed our father L. Gale (Shill) who preceded her in death (2010). While deeply saddened with our mother's passing, Jeffrey (Robyn) Shillington, Elizabeth Shillington, Lynn Dahle, and Sarah (Marianna Kohl) Shillington are grateful to have been raised by such a loving, competent, talented, nurturing mother and are relieved that her suffering has ended. We are heartened that her moral compass, her devotion to family and friends, compassion and care for others, and resourcefulness live on in her grandchildren, Courtney (Hemant) Mehta, Margaret (Chelsea Parks) Shillington, Cesare Evan (Melanie), Avery, and Amelia Mainardi, James and Wesley Dahle, and Adeline and Ellary Shillington, as well as her love for life and family in her great-grandchildren Sienna and Nathan Mehta. She is survived by many nephews, nieces, cousins, and close friends.

Originally from her ancestors' homestead (1845) near the small-town of Robinson in East-Central Illinois, Jane loved spending time in the homestead's still-standing brick building converted to the "Washhouse Resort" with her sister Barbara (Norman) Kouba, relatives, and childhood friends.

Our mother was remarkably hardworking and spry. Each year, even at 80, she made a point to sled down the hill in the neighboring park.

Jane and her dear friend and neighbor Lee Fleischer reportedly, during one of their restorative cocktail hours, devised their preferred way to die: peacefully pulling weeds in their gardens. This seemingly simple wish tells much about our mother?her aesthetic sensibility for beauty, composition, color, and texture, which she expressed in her ever-growing garden, her paintings, and her home; her appreciation of and respect for nature; her penchant for hard work and lack of fear of getting her hands dirty to get a job done; and the simple act of putting order in the world where she could. Although not in her garden, she met death with weed in hand.

In lieu of flowers, we urge you to plant a flower and keep the memory of our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, and friend alive. If you are so inclined to make a donation in her memory, Jane particularly enjoyed reading and of late audio books; she was a regular patron of the Downers Grove Public Library.

Memorial Visitation Saturday, August 24, 11 am - 1 pm at Adams-Winterfield Sullivan Funeral Home, 4343 Main St, Downers Grove.