Virginia Allen Stehney

Virginia Allen Stehney, a pioneer in environmental education and long-time civic leader in Downers Grove, died at home in Middletown, CT, on September 5. The cause was a heart attack. Her husband of 65 years, Andrew F. Stehney, was at her side. The Stehneys had moved to Connecticut last June to be closer to children and grandchildren. Born in Chicago and raised in Berwyn, Mrs. Stehney attended Morton High School, where she was named "Miss Morton" and valedictorian of the class of 1938. She received a B.S. degree in child development from the University of Chicago in 1942. The following year, she married her classmate Andrew Stehney. During World War II, the couple lived in Washington State and Tennessee while Mr. Stehney worked on the Manhattan Project. Mrs. Stehney was a secretary for the Project and a teacher of high school home economics, which she found challenging in the face of wartime food rationing. Returning to Chicago for her husband's graduate studies, she was secretary to Paul H. Douglas, economics professor at the University of Chicago, and managed his Chicago office for a year after he became U.S. Senator in 1948. The family moved to Downers Grove in 1951. Once her three children were in school, Mrs. Stehney taught kindergarten at the Avery Coonley School and took courses toward teaching certification. Her studies were interrupted for two years when her husband worked at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, and the family lived in Geneva, Switzerland. Mrs. Stehney was hired to manage the European office of an American publishing house that, she was amused to learn, was later suspected of being associated with CIA activities. Earning certification for both elementary and high school teaching in 1964, Mrs. Stehney believed strongly that being effective as a teacher required her to accommodate the varied learning styles and abilities of her students. She applied this philosophy of individualized instruction to multi-age classrooms, one for grades 1 to 3, and another for grades 4 to 6, as a teacher in the Downers Grove public schools for 12 years. During this time, she earned an M.A. in Education from Northwestern University in 1968 and served on the Employment Committee of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women. Keenly sensitive to the importance of nature and the environment on the quality of life, Mrs. Stehney was a member of the Environmental Association of Illinois and served as chairman of its Governing Council for two years. She studied environmental science at Governors State University, earning a second Master's degree in 1974 and developed an elementary school curriculum in the field. In addition to articles in national journals, she wrote the two-volume Environmental Curiosity Sampler, published by the Illinois Institute for Environmental Quality (1974 and 1976). This extensive resource on environmental study areas was provided to school districts, public libraries, organizations, and youth groups throughout the state. She was appointed to task forces on environmental education of the Illinois Department of Education and the National Education Association, serving as a liaison and consultant to schools, colleges, and universities. Her contributions were recognized by election to two terms on the Board of the National Association for Environmental Education. Always engaged in her local community, Mrs. Stehney devoted her considerable talents as an organizer, writer, and leader, to full-time volunteer work after her retirement from teaching. In Downers Grove in the 1950's, she worked in Democratic Party politics and was a founding member of the Downers Grove Area School Board Caucus. She later served on the boards of the Public Library and the Police and Fire Commissioners, a civilian group with responsibility for hiring and firing the chiefs and officers. She headed the village's Environmental Quality Control Commission and the local Commission for the U.S. Bicentennial. She was one of the original supporters and planners of Downers Grove's Heritage Festival. An active member of the Downers Grove Historical Society, Mrs. Stehney was secretary, historian, and then president. She developed exhibits and presentations on topics that included the life of early settlers, the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, and the work of the Egyptologist and Downers-native Dr. James Henry Breasted. She was engaged in the society's oral history project, and wrote or edited works on local history, including two illustrated books on the history of firefighting in the village. For many years, Mrs. Stehney volunteered at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle and at Treasure House, a resale shop in Glen Ellyn that supports the work of Metropolitan Family Services. She was an organizer and first president of the Downers Grove Lisle chapter of the Family Service League and later County Council President of Metropolitan Family Services DuPage. Mrs. Stehney received awards and commendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Soil Conservation Society of America, the National Association for Environmental Education, Downers Grove Park District, Metropolitan Family Services DuPage, and the Congress of Illinois Historical Societies and Museums. In addition to her husband Andrew, a chemist who is retired from Argonne National Laboratory, Mrs. Stehney is survived by children Ann &[Allentown, PA, and Bridgeport, CT&], Michael &[Killingworth, CT&], and Douglas &[Bartlett, TN&], six grandchildren, and sister Barbara Allen Young &[Windsor, CA&]. A memorial service will be held on October 12 at 2 P.M in the Downers Grove Public Library. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial contribution to Metropolitan Family Services DuPage or other charity.