The League Purpose

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization, is dedicated to the principles of self-government established in the Constitution of the United States. The League’s purpose is to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government and to act on selected issues.

The League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area was established in October 1958. Membership is open to all persons 18 years of age and over who subscribe to the League’s purpose and policies. Local membership automatically enrolls the member in the County, State, and National Leagues.

The League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area:

--Registers voters. 

--Sponsors candidates’ forums for contested local primary and general elections.

--Sponsors public information forums on current local and state issues.

--Studies issues and, with member consensus, takes positions.

Help us make democracy work!

Join the dedicated League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area members -- men and women in your community -- in the important work of keeping our community strong, safe, and vibrant.

membershipsignupsheet.pdf

Contact us

League of Women Voters Palatine Area (LWVPA)

P.O. Box 35

Palatine, IL 60078-0035

Email LWVPA

In memory of Marilyn Morel

Fourth Marilyn Remembrance

By Susan Spengler

This beautiful month of May Marilyn would have turned 70. I have trouble believing my friend for over 45 years is not here to attend League meetings and dinners, to lunch, shop or go to concerts, or to just talk. We go back so many, many years, sharing interests and experiences, even recent experiences with chemo and surgery. Two weeks ago I had my port removed after a clear CT. Marilyn also had a clear CT last spring, went hiking with a mutual friend and flew to Seattle to visit other dear friends. All appeared to be well until last July when Marilyn had an unfavorable blood test. I remember that test and Marilyn’s typical commitment to see it through.

She had brought that commitment to League, first serving as membership chair, then agreeing to take the presidency from me. I remember when she decided to join. After Marilyn retired from teaching English at Palatine High School, we were at an Elgin Symphony concert discussing her future volunteer options when I suggested that she might enjoy the League. I mentioned the League’s mission and members I enjoyed who, like Marilyn, were well-read, well traveled and who rarely met a topic they couldn’t speak to.

She decided to forgo joining her homeowners association to join the League instead. The rest is League history. Later while dealing with a thorny League issue, she did say,“You owe me,” but I don’t know that I could ever repay her for her role in keeping the League together or for her gift of friendship.

The first time I saw Marilyn was in the English Department at Conant High School. I was calling to her, “Virginia, Virginia,” but getting no response. I must have been reading Virginia Wolf’s ORLANDO, only later realizing it was Marilyn FOX, not WOLF. She was foxy too, snaring an attractive coach and marrying, leaving the area for a few years, coming back, becoming a single mom, taking night classes in reading while teaching and raising two now very successful children, parents to her five grandchildren. An honor graduate of Lawrence, a cheerleader as well as a band member in high school, Marilyn was capable of juggling many things at once. 

While performing the many duties of League president, she also worked hard for her church, writing scripts for presentations, organizing tutoring groups, working Vacation Bible School, serving on church committees and even helping to paint the Sunday School rooms a light terra cotta. I never knew all of what Marilyn did. She was a private person and didn’t toot her own horn much.

In spite of her church commitment and her busy travel and baby-sitting schedule, Marilyn always found time to register voters. I recall her initiation, a five-thirty stint at the Palatine train station in conjunction with Rita’s Palatine volunteers. She also often registered at the Schaumburg library and at least once at Schaumburg High School. She went to Cook County Conventions, issues briefings and nearly every local League event and activity.  She was a “standup gal” as I said during Marilyn’s first annual dinner while Marilyn checked in members before getting a call from her daughter about to have her second child.

The League has lost a valuable member. I have lost a longtime friend, former colleague and roommate, lunch and dinner partner, fellow reader and concert goer, and someone I could call about almost anything. Marilyn had a great sense of humor, enjoyed life and enriched the lives of those she touched. She was a large part of my life and the lives of many League members. The date she left Friendship Village for the last time is etched in my mind along with a thousand memories that crowd my thoughts. I feel privileged to have known this fine woman for so long and to be present the day before she passed. April 13. Though I know her phone number and email address by heart, I still have her listed in my address books and a get-well card for her  remains in my desk drawer.