Rose Jourdain

Jourdain, Rose Leonora Was the first of four children of Edwin B. Jourdain II and Emmaline Hardwick Jourdain. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 25, 1931, Rose grew up in Evanston during the Great Depression and World War II, and was profoundly influenced by her parents and maternal grandparents. Mr. Jourdain, Evanston's first Black alderman, was a tireless crusader for social justice and revered intellectual pursuits. Mrs. Jourdain, her mother and father, "Nana" and "Papa Joe," were each dedicated stewards of the family's traditions and oral history. It was from this nurturing fount of parental love and support, that Rose came to believe, even at that time, that the world was a place of great opportunity for a young Black girl with a good head on her shoulders. As a young lady, Rose was more interested in the White Sox and directing sporting events at Foster Field than in attending the social functions that her already glamorous looks might have implied. Living in her parent's home, she and her siblings had the opportunity to meet an endless assortment of intellectuals, community leaders, and unique characters, both famous and unknown. Their stories captivated her and ignited her passion for great story-telling. She attended Foster Elementary School, Haven Elementary and Middle School, and Evanston Township High School. From an early age, Rose developed a love of reading and writing. She attended the University of Illinois at Champaign for some time, but returned closer to Evanston to finish her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Lake Forest College. While other young women her age dreamed of being nurses and school teachers, Rose dreamed of being a war correspondent. She therefore decided to attend the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. But, as a journalist with a nose for a good story, she was quickly lured away by Johnson Publishing, where she became a reporter and editor for Jet and Ebony Magazines truly an amazing opportunity for a young Black woman in the 1950s. Living in Evanston, she was happily but briefly married to her high-school hero, Paul Stevens. Having honed her writing skills at Johnson Publishing, Rose eagerly moved to New York City, the capital of the publishing industry. In the Big Apple, she was hired as a co-writer and editor of the highly-regarded Time/Life publication "The Epic of Man," and worked as a television screenwriter and a freelance writer. New York's Harlem was a national symbol of black culture, and Rose enthusiastically became immersed in the exciting events shaping that legendary community. She worked as an organizer and program developer for the HAR-YOU-ACT community development organization. She employed her community outreach experience with the Black Economic Union, working to address unemployment and economic development issues facing the Black community in Harlem and beyond. While living in New York, she met the man who would become her second husband, John "Jackie" Hayes. Their daughter, Jacqueline "Wifit" Jourdain Hayes, was born in 1967. Upon the dissolution of that marriage, Rose returned first to Evanston, and later settled in Glencoe to raise Wifit on her own. Following the generations-long tradition of her family, Rose was determined that her daughter be able to attend the finest schools available. She worked at Scott-Foresman Publishing as a textbook writer and editor, and later as a high-school teacher at E.T.H.S., and researched and wrote her own literary work at night and on weekends. Her first novel, Those The Sun Has Loved, was published in 1978 to critical acclaim. Publisher's Weekly called it "A Blockbusting Novel!" and said, "Jourdain skillfully handles the sagacreating believable characters and giving us a fresh view of a black elite that has been neglected by historians and novelists." The Literary Journal described the book as having "Excellent historical detailskillfully woven to provide an accurate picture of an important aspect, often neglected, of the Black American experience" Rose was subsequently nominated to and accepted as a member of the prestigious P.E.N. American Center, the American branch of the world's oldest international literary and human rights organization. Although intensely independent her entire life, Rose also understood the importance and value of family and community. Her mother and grandmother were both pillars of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Evanston, and Rose found spiritual fellowship with the congregation of Second Baptist Church, and was baptized there as an adult. She and her daughter Wifit were also members of the Jack and Jill family social club, and greatly enjoyed the friendships and community events for which that group served as a foundation. When Wifit was accepted to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Rose moved to Washington, D.C. to be closer to her daughter for her vacations from school. While living in Washington, Rose continued to write, first as a Project Manager for the Agency for International Development at the State Department, then as a speechwriter for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Education Association. At the same time, she continued to work on her own writing projects whenever she could. She wrote a thriller novel called The Elephant Factor and a screenplay called My Brother's Keeper, although neither project was published or produced. But she was the most proud of the continuing success of her daughter, and it was in no small part due to Rose's perseverance, dedication and personal sacrifice that Wifit went on to graduate from Harvard/Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School. Rose moved back to Evanston in the early 1990s to help care for her mother, Emmaline, who fell victim to Alzheimer's Disease. She wrote a memoir about her experiences caring for her mother and her reflections on her family, called Rose, At Last. Back in her hometown, Rose soon reconnected with the community she had known so well, serving as a member of the Evanston Arts Council, as a volunteer mentor for high school students in the Evanston Public Library Mentoring Program. She also became a founding Board Member of Shorefront, a community organization dedicated to the preservation and recognition of the historic contributions of African-Americans to the Chicago North Shore suburban communities. One of the highlights of her later life was traveling to Europe with her daughter in 2001. She loved to entertain in her home, where guests enjoyed her wonderful gift for recounting stories of her friends and family. Even as she faced increasing physical disabilities in her later years, she was a tireless campaign worker for Barack Obama's U.S. Senate and Presidential campaigns, even traveling with Wifit to Nevada for the last two weeks before the 2008 elections to help get out the vote for Obama. As it was for countless Americans, Obama's inauguration was the joyous realization of the dream of generations before her, and Rose had helped carry their torch to light the way. At the time of her death, on March 16, 2010, she was working on another novel, and had copies out to friends to get their comments. She never tired of quoting her high-school journalism teacher, Mr. Hach: "There is no such thing as good writing, there is only good re-writing." Memorial donations may be made to Shorefront - The Rose L. Jourdain Memorial Library, P.O. Box 1894, Evanston IL 60204. Rose was survived by her brothers, Edwin B. Jourdain III ("Bud") (who passed away on May 4, 2010) and Spencer C.D. Jourdain, her sister JoAnn Jourdain Burton, and her daughter, Jacqueline "Wifit" Jourdain Hayes, now married to Jeff Branion (their daughter, Rose's granddaughter, Hannelore Nomi Jourdain Branion was born on November 15, 2010), and her dearly beloved aunts and cousins. She