By Diane Wagner, Class of 2005
Deann Schuler, docent class of 1977, died on September 20, 2020. She passed away at home with her three daughters by her side. Deann’s tours included Churches by Bus and Gold Coast Dearborn Walk. She was awarded Emeritus status. Classmate Carole Cosimano remembers this about her classmate: Deann was a pioneer in many respects, not only because she became a docent early in the program, but also because she bought and rehabbed a 2-flat in the West Loop long before the rest of us knew the neighborhood was worth it – or would be!
The CAC community also lost Joe LaRue on May 15, 2020. He was one of the first African American docents and a master presenter of the river boat tour. Joe was delighted with the Discovering Bronzeville tour that he took in 2013, as he had created the very first tour of Bronzeville some years ago. Also a musician, Joe sang in the Chicago Symphony chorus and played the organ at several churches. His voice, both in song and narrative, will be missed.
And the circle comes around again with two additions to our CAC community.
Nancy Schwab and her husband report the birth of Walter Ellery Petrie-Janquart. This first grandchild arrived on March 15th . Daughter Gemma and husband Nick recently returned to Chicago after three years in Seattle. Guess who will be scheduling tours around admiring sessions with Walter!
Kathy Krepps is delighted with her Michael Wesley Krepps, her fourth grandbaby. Michael arrived on April 7th in Zurich, Switzerland, weighing gin at 8.4 pounds. Kathy and her husband note, “Whether it’s the first or fourth, the miracle of new life never diminishes.”
Welcome Walter and Michael!
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Joe LaRue was a dean at the University of Chicago Business School and he presented a slide-show of Chicago architecture during Orientation for first year business school students in the Fall of 1981. He was so enthusiastic about being a docent, that I interviewed and completed the very next Docent Training program during the Winter of 1982 – Our training was held at the Glessner House, and we learned the Loop Tour, the Glessner House tour, and the Frank Lloyd Wright tour in Oak Park. I took a less demanding class load during my winter quarter, so I could really concentrate on the docent training. A few years after graduation, my job required too much travel, and I stepped away from CAC for a while, I recertified in 1994, and I’m still giving tours.. I’ve got one tomorrow morning! I’ve always been so thankful to Joe for enriching my life! That one-hour slide show he gave to his students changed my life forever!
Thanks for keeping us up to date with important milestones in our colleagues’ lives, Diane. Always very interesting!