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Obituaries

Geneva Mourns Loss of One of Its Great Icons; Stan Esping Dies at 94

How many of us have a park in our name? Few people in Geneva have had a greater impact or were more beloved than Stan Esping.

Stan Esping shot back: "Are you seeing a competent eye doctor?"

I love that line. And I didn't know him well, but I've been around long enough to know that this community loved Stan Esping.

He was our , our first executive director, and he helped build what is now one of the most-awarded community park districts in the state.

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It's doubtful that Stan would take credit for any of that. He was as modest and down-to-earth as they come.

Stan died yesterday, March 2, at Delnor Hospital. He'll be missed.

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More will come on funeral arrangements, and more accolades from people who are far more important than me or who know him better.

In the meantime, enjoy Kurt's two columns that mention Stan—one about his status as perhaps , and another about the Park District tag team of .

Here's an excerpt from Kurt's column:

"Stan was the first executive director of the Geneva Park District upon its founding in 1953. Up until 1961, he was its chief lawn-cutter and rink flooder, too; the one and only fulltime employee for the district's first eight years.

"Stan retired in 1978, and then was a member of the Geneva Park Board when it hired 27-year-old Steve Persinger as its new executive director in 1979.

"Steve Persinger is now retired. (This seems a pretty good barometer to indicate that you've been around awhile: You work a career, retire, hire a guy in his 20s to replace you, and you're still alive and kicking when HE retires.)"

And here are two more from David Nelson, courtesy of the .

Club Mourns Geneva Rotarian Stan Esping
by David Nelson 

Stan passed away March 2 at Delnor Hospital. Stan was a member of Geneva Rotary since 1973. He was always an active member and participated fully in club service projects, fundraising, social events and club meetings. 

Stan kept perfect attendance for Rotary meetings over his years in the club. His humor and wisdom contributed greatly to our club meetings. Stan helped found and had a long career with the Geneva Park District and there is a park named for him in Geneva.

Our condolences to his family on this sad event. 

Details on the wake and funeral will be provided once known. 

Stan Esping Presents His Personal History of Geneva
by David Nelson

Geneva Rotary's Stan Esping along with Rotarian Loy Williams and Linda Williams made a wonderful presentation about Geneva and Stan's times here at the Geneva Rotary club Sept. 7 meeting.

Their presentation including many great photos, and a story Stan wrote back when he was a sixth grader was developed by Loy and Linda through many hours of interview with Stan. Special thanks to Loy and Linda for their efforts in preserving Stan's memories.

Stan is a life long resident of Geneva. He is 94 years old and has seen a few changes in Geneva over the years while some things have also stayed the same.

Stan attended Geneva public schools and many of the school buildings still exist although their use has changed. He was one of the last "milk men" who delivered milk with horse drawn wagon. He is a Marine veteran who served during World War II and spent much of his service in Hawaii.

He worked for the city of Geneva and helped establish the Geneva Park District more than 60 years ago and he had many years of service leading the Park District. There is a park on the east side of Geneva named in his honor.

At our Sept. 7 meeting, club president Gordon Hard announced that the annual club scholarships would now be known as the Stanley Esping Geneva Rotary Scholarship Awards.

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