Antje Kolodziej

1935 - 2022

CHAMPAIGN - Antje Heberle Kolodziej, 87, of Champaign died Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, at home in the arms of her devoted husband.

Antje was born June 26, 1935, in Kiel, Germany. She was proceeded in death by her son, Peter; parents, Professor Rudolf Heberle and Franziska Toennies Heberle; and two brothers, Hinnerk and Jurgen.

She is survived by her spouse, Edward, whom she sustained over 63 years of marriage with boundless, unconditional love as well as selfless and unfailing devotion to family; three sons and nine beloved grandchildren, Andrew (Jeannette) Zachary and Aiden, Matthew (Rachel) Sander, Charlie and Peter, Daniel (Shanon) Alexandra and Katarina, and Peter's sons, Colin and Quinn; a much-loved cousin, Moya; and four nieces, Denise, Julie, Renee and Lauren, and their multiple offspring.

Antje left Germany at the age of 3 when her family emigrated to the United States to escape Hitler's Nazi regime. Her father, an eminent sociologist, had been dismissed from his university professorship. She is also the granddaughter of Ferdinand Toennies, among the founding fathers of the discipline of sociology.

Antje grew up in Baton Rouge, La., where her father was a chair professor in sociology at Louisiana State University. She graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 1957, having spent a study abroad year in Germany to restore her family roots and complete her major in political science.

She moved to Chicago and worked as the associate director of a Ford Foundation adult program, promoting political education and probing discussion of the great books. Antje was introduced to Edward through her brother, Hinnerk, who was his classmate in the graduate political-science program at the University of Chicago. A whirlwind romance followed, and they were married in 1959.

Antje moved with Ed to Washington, D.C., where he was completing research on his doctoral dissertation in political science from the University of Chicago. She assumed a post in the Department of Education as the associate director of a program to evaluate the academic credentials of Africans seeking admission to American colleges and universities.

Her life focused exclusively on family matters in 1962 when she moved to Charlottesville, Va., where Edward was appointed as an assistant professor in political science at the University of Virginia. During her 11 years in Charlottesville, she gave birth to four sons, one every two years. In between, there were multiple moves, first to Columbus, Ohio, in 1964 for year to support Ed's stay as a fellow of the Mershon Center at Ohio State University, and subsequently to Paris, off and on, between 1965 and 1978, to assist Ed's research and academic publications in French and European foreign and security policy.

Throughout these disruptive moves, Antje never lost sight of her determined purpose to ensure that her sons receive the best education possible to equip them to pursue whatever personal and professional path they might choose - "nudging" them tactfully to exploit the full limits of their imaginations and intellectual capacities.

While in Paris, she insisted that they attend French public schools. Although an American, she was elected by French parents to head the parent-teacher association of the public school where Matthew and Daniel were students. She was also keen to expose her sons to Western culture and to French and other European languages. This was accomplished by frequent visits with her sons to the major art museums in Paris and Europe, bolstered by trips to Normandy, the French chateaux region of the Loire Valley, as well as stays at Nice and the Mediterranean coast, with bullfights mixed in, and exploration of Provence and its antiquities in the south of France.

Antje moved to Champaign in 1973 with Ed and family, where Ed assumed the post as head of the department of political science at the University of Illinois. With unflagging verve and energy, she re-commenced the oversight of her sons' education. All graduated from Uni High and gained admission to leading American universities.

Peter graduated from Harvard and earned a doctorate in bio-chemistry from MIT. Andrew and Matthew graduated from the University of Chicago and went on to higher degrees, a Ph.D. in chemistry from MIT (Andrew) and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design (Matthew). Daniel graduated from the University of Michigan and earned a UCLA law degree. Antje's greatest joy was in contributing unwavering support to her sons through their challenging academic education - always the loving mother and gentle mentor guiding them along their academic, intellectual and cultural enriching journeys.

In 2014, Antje enthusiastically welcomed, as a blessing, Peter's children, Colin and Quinn, to live with her and Ed. She was immensely proud to see Colin graduate as a scholarship student from the University of Illinois, majoring in political science, and then to witness his admission to law school with a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, where he is in the second year of his studies. Quinn earned a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, and is a sophomore in pre-med after having graduated from Central High School in 2021.

That same selfless commitment to family was no less manifest in her support of Edward's professional career, to which she gracefully and selflessly subordinated her own career interests and aspirations. She skillfully edited and vetted all of Ed's books and multiple professional articles and book chapters contributed to academic volumes. Ed freely professed that Antje spared him countless and embarrassing gaffes in style and substance.

Antje was also Ed's Rock of Gibraltar, unfailingly constant and loyal, seeing him through the inevitable bumps along his way as an academic administrator, public policy program architect, visiting foreign lecturer, teacher and scholar.

Family, while central to her concerns, was complemented by her active engagement in public service. She was honored for 50 years of service to the League of Women Voters, serving periodically as secretary for the association. Shortly before her death, Mt. Holyoke awarded her its Loyalty Service Award for 2022 to honor Antje for her "demonstrated exceptional loyalty to the Alumnae Association and College" over 50 years.

Returning to work once her sons were out of the nest, she helped administer the Illinois-Austrian student exchange program, relying on her fluent German, and worked as a research assistant for Jim Nolan at the UI Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

As a lifetime Democrat, she served as the campaign manager for Joan Severns' successful election as mayor of Champaign. A fortuitous outcome of Severns' election was her championing to save the Cattle Bank, which now serves as the Champaign County History Museum. Antje was also a key member of the parents association that successfully lobbied to save Uni High from being dismantled by the UI's Department of Education.

Antje was also heavily engaged in ousting a Champaign City Council bent on eliminating the irreplaceable art deco lights that still today grace many Champaign streets and, thereafter, electing a majority committed to the project. The happy result was the preservation of the classic lights and a saving of over $1 million that would have otherwise been squandered in mindlessly installing large, glaring, offensive orange traffic lights throughout the community.

She also contributed to the community push to vote out of office a Champaign school board majority determined to abandon Central High School and central Champaign in favor of a new high school north of the busy Prospect Avenue shopping district. She then worked successfully with other community-minded Champaign residents to elect a visionary school board that was dedicated to saving Central High School, and to gain public approval for an unprecedented $183 million school bond issue to bring the physical educational infrastructure of the school system up to date - a totally renovated Central High School (with air conditioning!), a refurbished Centennial High School, upgraded athletic fields, a new Dr. Howard Elementary School, and more.

She still had time somehow for reading as a constant source of enjoyment, while nourishing her unquenchable curiosity. Antje devoured all or most of John Updike, her favorite author. James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Annie Proulx and Eudora Welty were also on her list. A skilled potter, she was a regular at the meetings of her knitting group, even on Zoom during the worst of COVID-19. 

Antje always looked forward each year to subscribing to the Krannert Center's annual music and drama series and to frequently attending Station Theatre offerings. Music was her constant companion, with classical and popular selections filling the home throughout the day. She also dutifully and diligently captured her daily experiences in diaries over the course of her marriage, producing a publishable record of her life, Proust-like - written in a fluid, lively prose, punctuated by immensely colorful detail, rendering delightfully her daily doings and remembrances. Cats were also a constant presence. They were a purrfect companion fur her life - Antje, the habitual serial punster.

Stitched through these multiple activities was extensive foreign travel with Ed around the world. Antje visited most of the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, celebrating her 50th birthday in Moscow during the Gorbachev period. There were also stays in the Middle East, Central and Latin America, and South and East Asia, the latter to India, Japan and China. No passive tourist, Antje actively engaged everyone she met, whether they be Bedouin woman at whose invitation she had tea, hotel workers or vendors at French markets. 

Antje lived a full life in selfless service to others. With a broad smile, infectious laugh, disarming humor and a welcoming disposition in interacting with family, friends and strangers, she touched countless people around the world, leaving a trail of casual and meaningful exchanges, a priceless legacy wherein others felt better about themselves, their spirits uplifted, after a brief chance or long meeting with Antje.  

We will miss Antje dearly, but she will always be remembered.

Condolences and tributes can be offered at the website of Morgan Memorial Home at morganmemorialhome.com.

Contributions to honor her legacy may be sent to Mt. Holyoke College, P.O. Box 888, South Hadley, MA 01075.