Loves Park City Council member A. Marie Holmes retires

MARGARET DOWNING PHOTO The Journal
Loves Park Mayor Greg Jury is shown presenting Marie with a glass heart for her service to the City of Loves Park. The glass heart: “Loves Park, the City with a Heart.”
Former Mayor Darryl Lindberg has this to say about one of the city’s most dedicated city council members who retired April 25 after 30 years on council:
“I want to offer A. Marie Holmes the very best as she retires from the City of Loves Park city council. The city was fortunate to have A. Marie serving for 30 years performing an outstanding job for her constituents as alderman.
“She continually put forth 100 percent of her efforts to make sure their voices were heard and that they always knew she would be available to represent them.
Lindberg said, “During my 20 years as mayor, A. Marie was a quiet but strong voice in order to make sure the residents of her ward (Ward 8) were kept up to date on issues that affected them. She was always available to meet with citizens to address their concerns and to make sure proper follow-up was done.
“A. Marie also spent a lot of her spare time as a member of Loves Park Rotary and also spent countless hours volunteering with the Young At Heart Committee to make sure our city had a successful event every year.
“She will be missed and deserves to enjoy a wonderful retirement.
“Thank you A. Marie Holmes for 30 years of dedicated service to the City of Loves Park!”
–Comments from Loves Park City Clerk, Bob Burden:
“Marie and I were elected aldermen at the same time in 1993, so I have known her for over 30 years. Always a smile on her face and a positive attitude…but Marie would always ask tough questions and has been a wonderful advocate for the fifth ward and for all of Loves Park.
“The residents of her Ward love her for the time and effort she puts into the needs of her constituents. I believe Marie could be a 5th Ward alderman forever because of her hard work and for the respect her residents have for her. Loves Park is a better, stronger and safer community because of Marie Holmes. I congratulate her for a job well done!”
–Comments of Machesney Park Village President Steve Johnson and his wife, Diana Johnson:
“Thank you, A. Marie for your many years of service to the citizens of Loves Park. You have always been there to help and support the residents of Loves Park and are always quick to volunteer your time to make various community events run smoothly! Take care and enjoy retirement, Mayor Steve Johnson.”
–Diana Johnson: “A. Marie is always willing to help and volunteer at many events and her smile is so welcoming to everyone she meets. I worked with her at many events over the years, including the Parks Chamber board, Young at Heart Festival and at various Rotary functions. Her help was invaluable and I am proud to call her my friend. We shared many good times and a lot of laughter when we worked to on projects together! I wish her the best in her retirement! Diana Johnson.”
These are just a small sample of all the good things that people have said about Marie!
One incident I would like to mention is how it shows what a good person and boss Marie was. She was my manager at Illinois Bell (216 N. Main St., downtown Rockford) in the early 1980s and one day I felt so tired I had to go and lay down on my break. My youngest daughter was a newborn then and I wasn’t always getting enough sleep. Imagine my chagrin when I woke up in the break room an hour later! I rushed back into the office and apologized to Marie. I did not want to get in trouble. Marie said, “Oh, it’s okay. I understand how it is when you have a new baby.” Wow, I never forgot that.
Marie is a native of Decatur, Illinois, born April 4, 1945. She attended both Rockford College and Western Illinois University. She came to the Rockford phone company office as Illinois Bell/AT&T “Dial Service Chief” in 1974, which is when I first met her so we go back a few years!
In “Dial” we dealt with assigning phone numbers, making sure the correct disconnect recording went on disconnected numbers and monitored telephone “call traffic.” (By monitoring call volume it would always be an alert to the company when, for instance, there was a “cut cable” – that and how calls to repair exploded when a cable was cut.)
Her telephone company experience going back to Decatur included, engineering as a “draftsman” which dealt with assigning outside facilities for phone lines.
Marie’s mother, Sina Roberta Easley, was killed in 1944 when Marie was just a child. Her mom was Native American from an Alabama/Oklahoma Tribe. Her father, James M. Smith, was a World War I and II Army vet, having served in Bremerhaven in Germany during the war.
According to information available on the Internet, Bremerhaven: “During World War II, Bremerhaven (formerly Wesermünde) was a significant port city and a major German naval base, making it a target for Allied bombing raids. The city suffered extensive damage, with 56.5 percent of its housing destroyed and 97 percent of the buildings in the city center destroyed. Bremerhaven also played a crucial role in the postwar period as a key departure point for displaced persons.”
–Information on Marie’s life:
As a small child after the loss of her mother, Marie was raised by a stepfather, Louis T Hardiman, who Marie says was, “so good to me.” She was also very close to her maternal grandfather (born in 1883), Isaiah Easley, who taught her lessons she has carried with her for her entire life. He most definitely was a big influence on Marie growing up. He had to have been a great person…just look at how well Marie turned out! For example, by the age of four Marie was able to read.
In June 1952, Marie graduated from Danville High School and received a Ford Scholarship to the University of Illinois. However, on October 15, 1952 Marie had joined the workforce at Illinois Bell in Danville, having been highly recommended through a letter from then Illinois Bell President, Dr. G.C. Lewis.
One of Marie’s positions at “the phone company” dealt with tracking planes into and out of Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Ill.*
*Note: Chanute AFB was recommended for closure by the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1988. The base was officially closed Sept. 30, 1993.
Marie had a very successful career at Bell, retiring in Rockford after several decades but she was not done helping others or serving the public.
In 1976 she was named as “Boss of the Year” through the Sinnissippi Chapter of the American Businesswomen’s Association, nominated by a Chapter member, Linda Feery, who noted “Marie has the unique ability to break the barrier between management and worker.”
Over her career Marie has been honored by many organizations, including the Rockford Register Star 2006 honor given her as “Black Achiever” during Black History Month. In the 1950s, Marie participated in sit-ins downstate and took part in 1961 in what was known as “Freedom Rides” when she traveled with a group from the U of I by bus to “the Mason-Dixon Line” for about 10 months.
People living then who remember news reports will recall that these “Rides,” per information on the Internet is explained: “The Freedom Rides, a series of political protests in 1961, involved black and white activists riding buses together through the segregated American South to challenge the non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings against segregation on interstate bus travel. These rides were organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and later joined by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Marie was a peaceful participant in some events and was one of those who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma, Ala. on what came to be known as “Bloody Sunday” in 1965.
She knew a number of leaders in the movement, who, per the Internet an explanation follows”
“On March 7, 1965, a group of civil rights activists led by John Lewis and Ralph Abernathy, along with other leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr, were violently attacked while attempting to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in a protest against voter discrimination and other civil rights issues.
“This incident became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Marie has carried the effects of being hit in the knee with a “billy club” that day. A description of this event per the Internet is, ‘Bloody Sunday’ “refers to the violent attack on peaceful civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. Around 600 protesters were brutally attacked by state troopers and other law enforcement officers as they marched from Selma to Montgomery to protest the denial of voting rights. The event, known as ‘Bloody Sunday,’ galvanized public opinion and helped to spur the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
After retiring from Illinois Bell/AT&T Marie continued her service to the community, being involved with numerous events and serving as a long time member of the Loves Park City Council, for which she did not run this year, being replaced by Frank Laudacina as Ward 8 representative.
Knowing Marie, however, don’t be surprised if you see her being involved with something! She will be sorely missed. This is a lady, always very involved with her community, who has received numerous honors over the years.
She was named Paul Harris Fellow through Loves Park Rotary “in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among people of the world.”
Words don’t quite convey what a good person she is. She has received numerous accolades over the years…for good reasons and all well deserved.
–A. Marie Holmes truly is a “one in a million” lady!