Maria Whelan, a force of nature, died suddenly on June 10, 2020 and all who knew her are left wondering how to fill the void she leaves behind. Maria was larger than life, a fierce advocate for children and families, someone who never held back in any area of her life. She was most proud of her own family, her three daughters, her 40+ year marriage, her three grandchildren (the lights of her life), and her close relationships with her siblings, cousins and friends of many decades. She created community all around her, and saw in every person someone worthy of respect, a good joke and opportunity for happiness. She worked tirelessly to bring those things to as many as possible, and the world is forever changed by her.

Maria was born on December 4, 1950 in the Northwest woods of East Hampton, New York. She was the third of 12 children, part of a boisterous clan who, along with many cousins, grew and romped among forests of oak trees and salty bay air. She was loved by her parents, Mary and Duane, and grew up in a home full of stories, songs, art, debate, literature, and noise. She brought that all with her to Dubuque, Iowa at the age of 17 to study at Clarke College. A self-described disaster of a student in high school, Maria thrived at Clarke where she was surrounded by women who became her sisterhood for the remainder of her life, and where she first recognized and learned to apply her sharp intellect. After college, she moved to Chicago and earned her master’s degree at the University of Chicago’s Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences. No stranger to hard work, she supported herself as a waitress and then a janitor at the former St. Mary’s school, where she met her lifelong partner and best friend, Jack Wuest, in 1973. After six years, they defied the odds and married in 1979 and continued proving Vegas and all betters wrong over the course of their nearly 50 years together. Theirs was a marriage of equals, of true partnership, shared difficulty, joy, politics, and humor. Together they raised their three beloved daughters, Catherine, Ellen and Maeve on the far north side of Chicago in Rogers Park. 

It was also at St. Mary’s that Maria began to work with other educators and advocates to develop what became the Carole Robertson Center for Learning (CRCL). Though she didn’t know what she was doing, Maria never let that stop her and over the next 16 years she helped grow the Carole Robertson Center into a thriving, important center for quality early childhood education on the West side of Chicago. Equally important to Maria were the people she worked alongside, the staff, the parents and the children of the CRCL who she would remember and tell stories about for the rest of her life. To this day, the CRCL awards a Maria Whelan award for Outrageousness and Courage, which perfectly captures who Maria was- outrageous and courageous.

Maria’s professional life was important to her and she never apologized for her ambitions or her achievements (let alone her opinions). She continued to work to provide more families and children with access to quality and affordable childcare in her roles at the City of Chicago’s Department of Human Services and the Chicago Community Trust before she found her life’s calling at the Illinois Action for Children. She led the work of IAFC for twenty years, elevating the importance of early childhood education and of investing in working families and children across the state of Illinois to the highest reaches of state government. She suffered no fools and was never intimidated by anyone. Maria looked at everyone with the same eyes, and expected those with privilege and power to care about those who have neither. She was fierce, she was righteous, she was smart and she was funny. She brought all of this to bear on moving Illinois forward, and advancing programs, funding and legislation that have changed our state. And, she did it with gusto, hard work, partnerships and charm. 

But if you were to ask Maria about her greatest accomplishment, she would list her children and her grandchildren. If you had five minutes to spare (or even if you didn’t) she would whip out her wallet photos or, more recently, her extensive phone collection to show you pictures of her grandsons Teddy and Archie and granddaughter Evie, and tell you a story or two of their latest exploits. She raised three women to be proud, to be strong, to work hard and to laugh loud and often, but she never placed on them any expectations or restrictions for who they should be, so long as they were true to themselves. She loved with great affection and delight and would often say she was most proud of her close friendship with each of her girls. And, as they each made their way in the world, her love expanded to include three sons-in-law, Ian, Conor and Virgilio who she loved as her own.

Maria made friends everywhere she went, she kept up with people, told them they mattered, made them laugh, and gave them big, wonderful hugs. She asked about their parents or their children, she made connections to help people find their way, and she always paid forward her own professional success by taking any networking meeting with any person who asked. Inevitably she told them to be bold and go for it, and that she would support them along the way.

Her capacity for love was endless. Her love of gossip, deep. Her interests, quirky and specific. And her spirit, and laugh, filled every room she entered. 

To know Maria was to love her, to be charmed, to be interested, to be listened to, to be interrupted, to be entertained. She brought people together and demanded we all do better, through hard work and a commitment to building a world where children are important and where they matter. 

There is no one like Maria Whelan, and she might joke, “Thank God.” But for those of us who loved her, who were shaped and held by her, the idea of a party, a holiday, a meeting, or a quiet Sunday night without her care, her voice, her laughter is impossible to imagine. She filled our lives and our hearts, and she will be remembered forever. 

We love you, Mama.