Many Women's History Month pieces focus on women whose names we all know - pioneers like Marie Curie or Rosa Parks. Or they might highlight less prominent figures like Rosalind Franklin, the British scientist whose work led to the Noble Prize-winning discovery of the double helix, the credit for which went to a group of men.
I'm taking a different approach and saluting women who, during the time they lived or worked here, left their mark on Hinsdale.
And on me.
• Ly Hotchkin
I first met the late Ly Hotchkin when she was executive director of The Community House and I was in my late 20s, working as managing editor at The Doings. Ly became the organization's first executive director at a time when women didn't hold such jobs. She was a force to be reckoned with, and I was duly intimidated. Fortunately, I got the chance to know her decades later when we were both in the cast of The Community Revue. With her strong mind and sharp wit, Ly was a delight to be around. I feel very fortunate to have spent the limited time I did with her.
• Anna Rasmussen Stansbury
The timing never worked out for me to interview Anna Rasmussen Stansbury, but her name has been familiar to me since September 2001, when her husband, Robert, died in the south tower of the World Trade Center at age 42. I learned more about Anna after she remarried and was working to support her son, Sam, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. She and husband Chris worked to raise money for research, one year collecting more than $50,000 by running the Chicago Marathon with a group called Sam's Muscular Women. I have long been impressed by her strength and determination. She and Chris sold their Hinsdale home in 2019 and now live in Colorado.
• Mindy McMahon
I was introduced to Mindy McMahon - as was the rest of Hinsdale - when she became principal at Madison School, a post she held for 23 years. She immediately struck me as a strong leader who was passionate about education. She also knew a thing or two about the importance of having fun, whether she was dressing up for Halloween or hula hooping with students. I enjoyed the times I interviewed her and attending her retirement party in 2015.
• Teri Goudie
My earliest memories of the late Teri Goudie are from the summer I was assistant manager at the Hinsdale Community Pool. Someone pointed out a pregnant woman in a bikini (so Teri!) and told me she was the wife of TV newsman Chuck Goudie. I was impressed and, once again, a little intimidated. Teri was a wife and mother and so much more. She was an international media coach and communication strategist with her own firm, Goudie Media. She was strong, driven, kind, generous and a great Community Revue castmate. She had the best brush with a celebrity (George Clooney) story I've ever heard. She passed away in 2022, just a few months after her last show.
• Jeannie Cella
Jeannie Cella started her 30-year career at Wellness House as an intern and retired in 2019 as president and CEO. She was motivated to work at the agency following the experience she had when her mother was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 1974 and died six months later. I always looked forward to interviewing Cella over the years and now enjoy seeing her occasionally on my block, where her son and his family bought a house a few years ago. My daughter even babysits for her grandson. Jeannie told me before she retired her career had been inspiring to her. She certainly has been inspiring to me.
- Pamela Lannom is editor of The Hinsdalean. Readers can email her at [email protected].
