Oak Parkers are mourning the death of Gloria Merrill, a beloved friend and dedicated community organizer who served on countless boards and commissions throughout her life.
Gloria Hope Lichtenstein Merrill died on Feb. 8, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico due to complications from leukemia.
Merrill worked for the Village of Oak Park, primarily on housing issues, and later for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
She also is well-known in the village for having served on the Oak Park Liquor Control Review Board, Community Relations Commission, Planning Commission and numerous ad hoc committees. Additionally, she served on the organization First Tuesday, the Hawthorne Community Council and the Oak Park Community Organization.
Others knew Merrill for her service at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, where she served as a docent. She also was active in the Village Manager Association
Merrill and her husband, Bill Merrill, were among the “first and fiercest allies of (Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association)” according to an announcement from the group. She and Bill were awarded OPALGA’s Brian Findley award in 2014 for their long-term service to the organization.
Merrill had recently accepted an invitation by the group to serve as a board member.
Friends and family have said her impact on the village is immeasurable.
“Gloria held strong opinions but was also open minded – a rare combination,” said Village Trustee Collette Lueck in an email. “She loved to cook, entertain and at every meeting she hosted you could count on delicious snacks.”
Lueck was not only a political ally; she also was a neighbor to Merrill – both lived on the 300 block of S. Taylor Ave.
“I met Gloria and her husband Bill when I moved two houses away. With (former village clerk) Sandra Sokol also on our block we joked that 300 S. Taylor was the block most active in local politics,” Lueck said. “I knew immediately we would become good friends. Gloria was always the first to help in a time of need, kind and generous. She will be missed.”
Lueck remembered Merrill as a key member of a small group that organized in the 1970s to help the village maintain diversity and helped pass the Domestic Partnership Registry. She most recently served on a committee that worked to respond to negative results from a fair housing report performed on behalf of the village.
Sokol said Merrill was the first person she met when she moved to Oak Park and maintained a friendship with her for several decades.
“She was a strong supporter of equal rights for all …” Sokol said in an email, adding that she also knew how to throw a great party.
“Gloria was always active in block activities, community affairs, school issues, housing, etc. and would joke with her friend Sandra that they were always at meetings. Though she was well informed and passionate about issues, she also had a feeling of balance and a sense of humor; she was seldom discouraged.”
Former Village President David Pope, who served with Merrill on the Plan Commission, said he came to “respect and appreciate her insights and her deep commitment and contributions to our community …”
He said she also was a friend and remembered her kindness years ago when Pope and his wife brought home their newborn daughter from the hospital.
“(S)he wanted to know if we would be home and if she could stop by briefly. I said sure and, not long after, I went down to answer the doorbell. There stood Gloria, just stopping by to deliver the most wonderful homemade meal that I have ever had the pleasure of receiving (lemon and herb chicken over saffron rice),” Pope said in an email.
“She said she had heard that we were coming home after a few days in the hospital and she simply wanted to help make our transition into the new, exciting, and at times stressful world of newborn parenting just a little bit easier and more enjoyable.”
“Godspeed Gloria, and thank you for sharing that kindness with me, with my family, and with so many others,” Pope said.
In addition to her husband Bill, Gloria is survived by her sons Ian Liebman (Janine Regal) and Jordan Liebman (Victoria)%u037E her stepdaughters Jennifer Thompson (Edward), Rebecca Merrill (Philip Waleski), Alissa O’Donnell (Richard), and Amanda Merrill (Anthony Calcagno)%u037E 15 grandchildren%u037E and her brother Michael Lichtenstein (Charlene).
A celebration of Gloria’s life will be held on Saturday, March 5, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the VFW Post #2801, 39 E. St. Charles Road, Villa Park, Ill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jewish United Fund (www.juf.org) and Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org).
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com
