Lenore Weiss, a co-winner of the prestigious Steinbeck Award and other preservation honors for work that she and her husband John Weiss did for Route 66 in Illinois, died today after a battle with cancer. She was 63.
Lenore had told me some months ago that she had been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer, but faced it with her usual determination and optimism. Based on her e-mails, she continued to be heavily involved with Route 66 activities throughout her treatments.
A celebration of life will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 9 to10:30 a.m. Friday at Patterson Funeral Home (map here) in Braidwood, Ill. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Rose Church (map here) in Wilmington, Ill.
We first met John and Lenore Weiss about 10 years ago when we joined an army of volunteers from the Illinois Route 66 Association to repaint a huge Meramec Caverns ad on a barn off Route 66 near Hamel, Ill. The Weisses were the guiding forces of that effort, along with the repainting of another Meramec Caverns ad on a barn off Route 66 near Cayuga, Ill.
Other projects the Weisses led were the renovating The Mill in Lincoln, Ill.; Odell Station in Odell, Ill.; moving a Paul Bunyan statue to Atlanta, Ill.; fixing up an old streetcar diner in Gardner, Ill; restoring an old Route 66 bridge in Pontiac, Ill.; and other endeavors I’m sure I’ve forgotten.
Their efforts culminated in winning the prestigious John Steinbeck Award in 2002 at the annual Route 66 Steinbeck Awards Banquet, and they were elected to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.
John and Lenore were pretty much joined at the hip, and we greatly appreciated their “can-do” attitude about preserving historic properties on Route 66 in Illinois. Their leadership in preservation efforts were considered a model for others, and helped guide otherpreservation programs in Route 66’s other seven states and beyond.
The Weisses also were enthusiastic road-trippers. They parlayed that firsthand knowledge into an impressively researched “New, Historic Route 66 of Illinois” guidebook and “Traveling the Historic Three,” which served as a guidebook for the Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway and Route 66 in the Chicagoland area. They also became big supporters of Route 66 festivals in Illinois, including the Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival.
Lenore Weiss is survived by her husband, two brothers, and one son, Mark Ramsey of Custer Park, Ill.
Memorial donations can be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley, 482 Main St. NW, Bourbonnais , IL 60914, or The Flat-Coated Retriever Foundation – Cancer/Health Fund, c/o Cheryl Kistner/FCR Foundation Treasurer, 27941 W. Flynn Creek Drive, Barrington , IL 60010.
UPDATE: An obituary in the Joliet Herald-News can be seen here.
UPDATE2: A message from Kathy Miller from the Illinois Route 66 Association:
Friends,
It is with a sad heart that I am soliciting memories and comments about Lenore Weiss to use in the spring issue of “The 66 News” for a center spread as we did for Bob Waldmire. Please be brief, limiting your thoughts to two to four sentences.
I must have your submission no later than Friday, February 25, 2010.
Miller’s e-mail is kathleen708(at)hotmail(dot)com.
UPDATE3: The Joliet Herald-News has posted a more expansive story on Lenore today. One excerpt:
“She was the first lady of Route 66,” said Rebecca Barker, spokeswoman for the Joliet Visitors Center. “Those entire Route 66 corridor signs downtown and roadside attraction signs are there because of Lenore and John Weiss.”
Travel well, Lenore. I can’t think of a better caretaker and advocate for those “many mansions” Jesus talked about.
Lenore leaves a rich legacy for so many of us to appreciate.
Lenore was very special. I feel so much for John and family right now.
Her example in life was so outstanding.
Dave “66 Willy” Willman
I am à truck driver and travel Route 66 every week. I just purchased “as the story goes” at a truck stop just before the I55 junction. Thank you for this unique look through history.