Galen Gockel, one of OP’s ‘Greatest Generation,’ dies

It is not hyperbole to say that Oak Park would not be the progressive village we know today without the countless contributions and unwavering commitment of people such as Galen Gockel. Gockel, 91, died Jan. 21 after a period of declining health.

His longstanding dedication to the community has made an indelible impact on politics, education and the arts, as well as social justice. He served as a role model for public service — not only because of what he did, but how he did it, with humility, generosity and integrity.

One of the few people in Oak Park history to be elected to three governing bodies — District 97 elementary school board, village trustee, and township assessor, Gockel also chaired the Senior Citizens Center and Unity Temple Concert Series, served as managing director of Oak Park Festival Theatre, co-founded, with his wife, Marjorie, the village’s popular Farmers’ Market, and helped launch Wednesday Journal in 1980.

“Galen Gockel embodied every virtue of citizenship. He was engaged over six decades in the vital work of Oak Park in its bold experiment to become a racially diverse village. He always came forward to serve as a thoughtful, trusted yet bold voice for what today we’d describe as equity and inclusion. He was a good man. Together with Marge they were one of Oak Park’s great couples — always there, always positive, always adding,” said Dan Haley, publisher of Growing Community Media.

Gockel’s commitment to social justice began in the turbulent 1960s. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago, he participated in the Freedom Summer project of 1964, a pivotal chapter in the country’s effort to expand voter registration among African Americans. He attended a 10-week training session in nonviolent resistance in Ohio and met many of the giants of the civil rights movement, including Bayard Rustin, Robert Moses and Fannie Lou Hamer. During his training, three young civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi, allegedly by the Ku Klux Klan. Because Gockel had young children at the time, he made the difficult decision not to go to Mississippi that summer — but the experience informed the rest of his life.

Before moving to Oak Park from Chicago’s south side in 1969, Gockel and his wife acted as “straw buyers” for a Black couple who couldn’t get any realtors to show them a house in the village. They were encouraged by the progressives they met in the village and, shortly after putting down roots, Gockel was elected to the District 97 school board, with a mission to integrate the village’s elementary schools without sparking white flight. 

At the time, Oak Park’s elementary schools were racially imbalanced, with minority students and their families clustered in the east-central section of the village. Gockel formed a broad-based “Committee for Tomorrow’s Schools,” which included school board president Marilyn Lehman. After two years of intensive study and extensive public input, the committee created a plan to reorganize the schools’ boundaries to correct disparities in minority student enrollment and converted two of the 10 schools into the junior high schools (later made into middle schools) that exist today. The plan, which was not greeted with universal approval by residents, was passed unanimously by the board in January 1976.

After retiring from his position as an administrator with the Urban Studies Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest in 1996, Gockel devoted more time to his position as township assessor. He had been elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1997, before current assessor, Ali ElSaffar, was elected in 2001.

“Galen hired me part-time in 2000 and groomed me for the job. He was a great mentor — a calm, thoughtful, knowledgeable person, and his confidence in the role served as a calming influence for people at a time when they are typically upset and confused. I learned from Galen that my role could be a community service to educate people — about the tax assessment system and how to file appeals. I’ve tried to continue that tradition,” ElSaffar said. 

Gockel was elected to the village board in 2001 and served one term before being pulled back in 2006 by former village president David Pope to fulfill an open term.

“Galen was a key member of Oak Park’s greatest generation,” Pope said. “He touched so many facets of life in our community and his impact has been immeasurable. As a village trustee, he always did his homework and spoke to people on varying sides of an issue before ultimately coming down on the side that he thought was best for advancing the betterment of our community while keeping in mind those who were most vulnerable. He has inspired me profoundly.”

Gockel also devoted much time and energy to the arts in the village. He became managing director of Festival Theatre in 2005, after serving on the board, at a time when the organization was experiencing severe financial and leadership challenges. He helped right the ship and continued throughout his life to be a stalwart supporter of the organization, including launching a scholarship fund to compensate the theatre’s summer college interns.

“Festival Theatre would have been lost without Galen,” said Belinda Bremner, past board chair and a company member. “I admired his indomitable spirit and perseverance when working on a project. He walked the walk and was both practical and visionary. He was a true gentleman, a just man and a kind man to one and all. It will be profoundly sad not to see Galen strolling through Austin Gardens this summer, greeting everyone from staff to audience.”

While Gockel’s service to our community is justly lauded, his devotion to his family is equally admirable. His wife Marge, his “partner in crime,” died in 2020. His son, Andy, said that while his father appreciated the recognition that he received for his service, he never courted it. Gockel also is survived by his daughter, Rebecca.

“Growing up, I observed that both of my parents were very busy with meetings and phone calls. Our basement looked like a campaign office. I knew my father was very dedicated to his work. He wanted to improve the world. He was a humble man — the same person in his later life as he was in his activist years. I got the sense that neither of my parents had any regrets,” Andy said.

Correction, Jan. 29, 9:40 a.m: This article was updated to correct the date of death and to clarify that he was one of the few in the village to hold three elected positions. We apologize for the error.