Mayor of Evanston, Illinois from 1970-1977.
Edgar Vanneman, Jr., 80, the mild-mannered former mayor of Evanston who in the 1970s presided over landmark changes to the city’s downtown, its laws governing the sale of alcohol and where residents could find affordable housing, died of leukemia Tuesday, June 6, in his Evanston home.
He was a fixture in regional politics for more than four decades, serving as president of the state’s Young Republicans in the early days of his career and later as president of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
In between, he helped Evanston become the first Chicago suburb to participate in a Cook county rent subsidy program for low-income residents. He started a housing rehabilitation board and a city preservation commission in Evanston and cast deciding votes on measures that ushered in scattered-site affordable housing and brought to an end Evanston’s more than 100-year-old temperance issue.
Despite the fact that we have a diverse population and representation,” said Frank K. Hoover, a former Evanston alderman who served on the City Council while Mr. Vanneman was mayor.
“That’s hard to make sound terrific, but that’s the guts of it. His kudos came from doing the job with fairness and without fanfare.”
His dark suits, conservative hairstyle and horn-rimmed glasses spoke volumes about the man. His family said he was quiet at home. A packrat, he was nonetheless a neat one, binding his typewritten notes from law school and placing them carefully on a bookshelf, while keeping a half-inch thick file folder filled with information on his steady accumulation of accolades and accomplishments.
“I think he felt he wanted to leave something of himself, to mark his mark, so to speak,” his daughter Jill, said of his civic involvement. “That was the way he wanted to do it.”
Born in downstate El Paso and raised in Evanston, Mr. Vanneman graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1937 and from Northwestern University in 1941. He was a year into the university’s law school when he volunteered for Army service during World War II. He served in the South Pacific in the Army Air Forces.
He earned two bronze stars for his service in the closing days of the war.
Back in the United States, he worked on the legal staff of the Chicago & Northwestern railway beginning in 1949, becoming the railroad’s general attorney and commerce counsel before moving in 1962 to Brunswick Corp., where he was assistant secretary. He later became general attorney for the corporation as well. Mr. Vanneman retired in 1990.
In 1950 he married Shirli Thomas, who died in 1992.
Mr. Vanneman was active in the Young Republicans and was the organization’s state president in the mid-1950s. In 1957 he was elected to the Evanston City Council, where he chaired the council’s committee on human relations. He stepped down from the council in 1965.
Mr. Vanneman was mayor from 1970 to 1977, after which he was appointed to NIPC, where he assumed the presidency in 1979.
Although he was known throughout his career for taking a regional view of transportation, environmental and waste disposal issues, his family said his biggest contributions were to Evanston.
“I think Evanston had been viewed as a conservative, maybe a stodgy town, and he was able to bring a whole lot of coalitions together without being a politician,” his daughter said. “He seemed to do it without a whole lot of ego.”
Mr. Vanneman was twice elected mayor by overwhelming majorities, and his family said he was approached to run for higher office but turned the offer down.
Though Hoover described Mr. Vanneman with such adjectives as “deliberative” and “level-headed,” he said the word that fit best was “unassuming.”
“Those newsworthy items were handled in an un-newsworthy, civil fashion,” Hoover said. “There was not fireworks or rhetoric r anything.”
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Vanneman is survived by a son, Thomas; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
Chicago Daily Tribune - 8 Jun 2000.
Edgar Vanneman, Jr., 80, the mild-mannered former mayor of Evanston who in the 1970s presided over landmark changes to the city’s downtown, its laws governing the sale of alcohol and where residents could find affordable housing, died of leukemia Tuesday, June 6, in his Evanston home.
He was a fixture in regional politics for more than four decades, serving as president of the state’s Young Republicans in the early days of his career and later as president of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
In between, he helped Evanston become the first Chicago suburb to participate in a Cook county rent subsidy program for low-income residents. He started a housing rehabilitation board and a city preservation commission in Evanston and cast deciding votes on measures that ushered in scattered-site affordable housing and brought to an end Evanston’s more than 100-year-old temperance issue.
Despite the fact that we have a diverse population and representation,” said Frank K. Hoover, a former Evanston alderman who served on the City Council while Mr. Vanneman was mayor.
“That’s hard to make sound terrific, but that’s the guts of it. His kudos came from doing the job with fairness and without fanfare.”
His dark suits, conservative hairstyle and horn-rimmed glasses spoke volumes about the man. His family said he was quiet at home. A packrat, he was nonetheless a neat one, binding his typewritten notes from law school and placing them carefully on a bookshelf, while keeping a half-inch thick file folder filled with information on his steady accumulation of accolades and accomplishments.
“I think he felt he wanted to leave something of himself, to mark his mark, so to speak,” his daughter Jill, said of his civic involvement. “That was the way he wanted to do it.”
Born in downstate El Paso and raised in Evanston, Mr. Vanneman graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1937 and from Northwestern University in 1941. He was a year into the university’s law school when he volunteered for Army service during World War II. He served in the South Pacific in the Army Air Forces.
He earned two bronze stars for his service in the closing days of the war.
Back in the United States, he worked on the legal staff of the Chicago & Northwestern railway beginning in 1949, becoming the railroad’s general attorney and commerce counsel before moving in 1962 to Brunswick Corp., where he was assistant secretary. He later became general attorney for the corporation as well. Mr. Vanneman retired in 1990.
In 1950 he married Shirli Thomas, who died in 1992.
Mr. Vanneman was active in the Young Republicans and was the organization’s state president in the mid-1950s. In 1957 he was elected to the Evanston City Council, where he chaired the council’s committee on human relations. He stepped down from the council in 1965.
Mr. Vanneman was mayor from 1970 to 1977, after which he was appointed to NIPC, where he assumed the presidency in 1979.
Although he was known throughout his career for taking a regional view of transportation, environmental and waste disposal issues, his family said his biggest contributions were to Evanston.
“I think Evanston had been viewed as a conservative, maybe a stodgy town, and he was able to bring a whole lot of coalitions together without being a politician,” his daughter said. “He seemed to do it without a whole lot of ego.”
Mr. Vanneman was twice elected mayor by overwhelming majorities, and his family said he was approached to run for higher office but turned the offer down.
Though Hoover described Mr. Vanneman with such adjectives as “deliberative” and “level-headed,” he said the word that fit best was “unassuming.”
“Those newsworthy items were handled in an un-newsworthy, civil fashion,” Hoover said. “There was not fireworks or rhetoric r anything.”
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Vanneman is survived by a son, Thomas; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
Chicago Daily Tribune - 8 Jun 2000.
Mayor of Evanston, Illinois from 1970-1977.
Edgar Vanneman, Jr., 80, the mild-mannered former mayor of Evanston who in the 1970s presided over landmark changes to the city’s downtown, its laws governing the sale of alcohol and where residents could find affordable housing, died of leukemia Tuesday, June 6, in his Evanston home.
He was a fixture in regional politics for more than four decades, serving as president of the state’s Young Republicans in the early days of his career and later as president of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
In between, he helped Evanston become the first Chicago suburb to participate in a Cook county rent subsidy program for low-income residents. He started a housing rehabilitation board and a city preservation commission in Evanston and cast deciding votes on measures that ushered in scattered-site affordable housing and brought to an end Evanston’s more than 100-year-old temperance issue.
Despite the fact that we have a diverse population and representation,” said Frank K. Hoover, a former Evanston alderman who served on the City Council while Mr. Vanneman was mayor.
“That’s hard to make sound terrific, but that’s the guts of it. His kudos came from doing the job with fairness and without fanfare.”
His dark suits, conservative hairstyle and horn-rimmed glasses spoke volumes about the man. His family said he was quiet at home. A packrat, he was nonetheless a neat one, binding his typewritten notes from law school and placing them carefully on a bookshelf, while keeping a half-inch thick file folder filled with information on his steady accumulation of accolades and accomplishments.
“I think he felt he wanted to leave something of himself, to mark his mark, so to speak,” his daughter Jill, said of his civic involvement. “That was the way he wanted to do it.”
Born in downstate El Paso and raised in Evanston, Mr. Vanneman graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1937 and from Northwestern University in 1941. He was a year into the university’s law school when he volunteered for Army service during World War II. He served in the South Pacific in the Army Air Forces.
He earned two bronze stars for his service in the closing days of the war.
Back in the United States, he worked on the legal staff of the Chicago & Northwestern railway beginning in 1949, becoming the railroad’s general attorney and commerce counsel before moving in 1962 to Brunswick Corp., where he was assistant secretary. He later became general attorney for the corporation as well. Mr. Vanneman retired in 1990.
In 1950 he married Shirli Thomas, who died in 1992.
Mr. Vanneman was active in the Young Republicans and was the organization’s state president in the mid-1950s. In 1957 he was elected to the Evanston City Council, where he chaired the council’s committee on human relations. He stepped down from the council in 1965.
Mr. Vanneman was mayor from 1970 to 1977, after which he was appointed to NIPC, where he assumed the presidency in 1979.
Although he was known throughout his career for taking a regional view of transportation, environmental and waste disposal issues, his family said his biggest contributions were to Evanston.
“I think Evanston had been viewed as a conservative, maybe a stodgy town, and he was able to bring a whole lot of coalitions together without being a politician,” his daughter said. “He seemed to do it without a whole lot of ego.”
Mr. Vanneman was twice elected mayor by overwhelming majorities, and his family said he was approached to run for higher office but turned the offer down.
Though Hoover described Mr. Vanneman with such adjectives as “deliberative” and “level-headed,” he said the word that fit best was “unassuming.”
“Those newsworthy items were handled in an un-newsworthy, civil fashion,” Hoover said. “There was not fireworks or rhetoric r anything.”
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Vanneman is survived by a son, Thomas; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
Chicago Daily Tribune - 8 Jun 2000.
Edgar Vanneman, Jr., 80, the mild-mannered former mayor of Evanston who in the 1970s presided over landmark changes to the city’s downtown, its laws governing the sale of alcohol and where residents could find affordable housing, died of leukemia Tuesday, June 6, in his Evanston home.
He was a fixture in regional politics for more than four decades, serving as president of the state’s Young Republicans in the early days of his career and later as president of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
In between, he helped Evanston become the first Chicago suburb to participate in a Cook county rent subsidy program for low-income residents. He started a housing rehabilitation board and a city preservation commission in Evanston and cast deciding votes on measures that ushered in scattered-site affordable housing and brought to an end Evanston’s more than 100-year-old temperance issue.
Despite the fact that we have a diverse population and representation,” said Frank K. Hoover, a former Evanston alderman who served on the City Council while Mr. Vanneman was mayor.
“That’s hard to make sound terrific, but that’s the guts of it. His kudos came from doing the job with fairness and without fanfare.”
His dark suits, conservative hairstyle and horn-rimmed glasses spoke volumes about the man. His family said he was quiet at home. A packrat, he was nonetheless a neat one, binding his typewritten notes from law school and placing them carefully on a bookshelf, while keeping a half-inch thick file folder filled with information on his steady accumulation of accolades and accomplishments.
“I think he felt he wanted to leave something of himself, to mark his mark, so to speak,” his daughter Jill, said of his civic involvement. “That was the way he wanted to do it.”
Born in downstate El Paso and raised in Evanston, Mr. Vanneman graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1937 and from Northwestern University in 1941. He was a year into the university’s law school when he volunteered for Army service during World War II. He served in the South Pacific in the Army Air Forces.
He earned two bronze stars for his service in the closing days of the war.
Back in the United States, he worked on the legal staff of the Chicago & Northwestern railway beginning in 1949, becoming the railroad’s general attorney and commerce counsel before moving in 1962 to Brunswick Corp., where he was assistant secretary. He later became general attorney for the corporation as well. Mr. Vanneman retired in 1990.
In 1950 he married Shirli Thomas, who died in 1992.
Mr. Vanneman was active in the Young Republicans and was the organization’s state president in the mid-1950s. In 1957 he was elected to the Evanston City Council, where he chaired the council’s committee on human relations. He stepped down from the council in 1965.
Mr. Vanneman was mayor from 1970 to 1977, after which he was appointed to NIPC, where he assumed the presidency in 1979.
Although he was known throughout his career for taking a regional view of transportation, environmental and waste disposal issues, his family said his biggest contributions were to Evanston.
“I think Evanston had been viewed as a conservative, maybe a stodgy town, and he was able to bring a whole lot of coalitions together without being a politician,” his daughter said. “He seemed to do it without a whole lot of ego.”
Mr. Vanneman was twice elected mayor by overwhelming majorities, and his family said he was approached to run for higher office but turned the offer down.
Though Hoover described Mr. Vanneman with such adjectives as “deliberative” and “level-headed,” he said the word that fit best was “unassuming.”
“Those newsworthy items were handled in an un-newsworthy, civil fashion,” Hoover said. “There was not fireworks or rhetoric r anything.”
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Vanneman is survived by a son, Thomas; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
Chicago Daily Tribune - 8 Jun 2000.
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