A
LIFETIME resident of the Little
Village community, Mary Louise was the first woman veteran member of
the American GI Forum of Illinois; served as Chapter Chair of the
Chicago Midwest GI Forum Chapter; elected in1984 as the Sergeant of
Arms of the American GI Forum's National Conference. She was the only
woman to serve in a national capacity since the organization was
founded in 1948. Mary was also a Board Member of the Veteran's
Outreach Program of Illinois and co-founder and Board member of SER.
MARY LOUISE served on the
Veteran's Advisory Council of the City of Chicago and was a personal
friend of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley.
She was also a charter member and field representative for the
Women's Veteran Memorial Wall Foundation. She served as a foster
mother for DCFS, a community sports reporter, past member of LULAC
and an organizer of a women's bowling league. Mary Louise received
numerous merit and appreciation honors including the National
Association of Illinois Women's Veterans, the Golden Eagle from Dr.
Garcia, founder of the American GI Forum and a member of the Dr.
Hector P. Garcia
AMVETS Post 326 in Little Village. AMVETS members posted colors at
the wake.
SHE
WAS honored in the book and the
HBO special entitled “Americanos” Latino Life in the United
States prefaced and signed by Edward James Olmos.
Mary Louise was fondly nicknamed: “Mary Louigee”. She was the
mother of three children: Gloria Nabors, Linda Molina
and Leo Castro. Mary
Louise' husband was the late Rosalio Castro.
MARY LOUISE was laid
to rest at the Abraham Lincoln
[VA] National Cemetery in Elwood, IL. She was given full military
honors at the grave site in a program, “Honoring Those Who Served”
on behalf of veteran's family. Taps were heard echoing in the serene
cemetery grounds.
ON
A PERSONAL note I knew Mary
Louise when she served on the Little Village SER Board of Directors
many years ago. Mary was very supportive of my position as the
Chairman of the SER Board. She always expressed her concern for the
youth of our Little Village community. Her friendship will be missed.
A family applying for U.S. Passports |
UPDATE: There were 32 adults and 19 children who applied for U.S. Passports on“Passport Day” sponsored by the Little Village Community Council and hosted by staff from the Chicago Main Post Office. Passport Day was held last Saturday, March 29, 2014. Processing of the applications for a U.S. Passport went smoothly. The non-English speaking applicants were given assistants by a bi-lingual post office clerk. There were no glitches.
THE
POST Office staff worked from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and they were courteous and friendly to everyone.
This was the second time the Post Office people came to Little
Village to serve our community. Today, everyone needs a passport to
travel outside of the U.S., especially children. To go to Mexico,
every member of the family needs a passport.
Adela Spezzia |
A SLUGGER: Adela Spezzia, a junior at Cristo Rey
Jusuit High School in Pilsen plays shortstop in the school's
“Cristeros” girl's softball team. On Saturday,
March 29th, Adela hit a home run, a double and two singles
winning against the “Perspectives” team ending
with a score of 22 to 3.
THE
GAME was played at Harrison
Park in the Pilsen neighborhood. The weather was a cold 34 degrees.
“Ive' been playing softball [fast pitch] since I was in eighth
grade, said Adela, I love playing softball.”
ADELA is a volunteer
doing her service community hours in Little Village. “I live in
Little Village and I would like it to be a safe and clean
neighborhood,” said Adela.
Two students hair stylists giving haircuts. |
Cesar Chavez |