Julia Ann Wade

Julia Ann Wade (née Johnson) of Mendota, Illinois, passed away the afternoon of December 21st, 2024 after a brief battle with lung cancer. She passed peacefully, surrounded by family.

Julia was born February 28th, 1948, to Ray Johnson and Marie Johnson (née Foulk), the second of their three children, including her older brother Joel Johnson, and her younger sister Jill McNeill. She lived and grew up with her family at the family homestead north of Mendota. She had many happy memories of her life growing up and would tell those stories frequently. She deeply loved her parents and siblings. She often spoke of her father Ray's kindness and generosity, and of his sense of humor. Her mother was a kind and gentle woman - traits she passed on to Julia. Throughout her mother Marie’s life Julia saw and spent time with her frequently, and spoke with her on a nearly daily basis. She maintained strong relationships with both her brother and sister, seeing and engaging with them often.

She attended schools in Mendota, and was an active member of the Girls Athletic Association, the White Collar Club, and Future Homemakers of America. Julia was an excellent student, and enjoyed school, with the exception of a pointed dislike for the tortures of mathematics. She made relationships in high school that she maintained and cherished throughout her life. And it was in school that she met James “Jim” Wade, the young man that would become her high school sweetheart, and later her devoted husband.

After high school she briefly pursued a career in the airline industry, attending Patricia Stevens Career College in Chicago, which she routinely referred to as a “finishing school” to friends and family. Ultimately, she decided instead to return home and start a family with her high school sweetheart, Jim. They married on September 14th, 1968 at the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Compton. Their union persisted with deep love and affection for the entire 56 years they were together.

With Jim, Julia became the mother of two sons, Erin and Gabe. She embraced motherhood and proved to be an excellent parent, showing the patience, support, and firm boundaries needed to raise two very headstrong boys. She was side by side with her boys for hours of homework help, attended virtually every sporting event and activity, and was an enthusiastic personal and public cheerleader for her sons throughout. She actively chose the role of mother and housewife with pride - when asked once by her eldest son why she didn’t “work”, she explained, with patience and clarity, that she loved what she did, and then gently disabused the boy of the idea that raising him was somehow *not* work. With this, and despite the efforts of her sons, she kept an immaculate home (don’t use the guest towels!). And, when the need arose from time to time, she did work outside of the home, aiding first her husband, and later her son and his family, in running the family business.

Julia loved being a grandmother and loved her three grandchildren - Savannah Brown (née Wade), Ethan Wade, and Devin Wade. She delighted in their company and their achievements. She attended myriad sporting events, plays, and musicals as she was able, and supported all of them as and when they needed it. She was delighted to have the opportunity to live to see and spend time her great grandchildren - Miles and Rylin - as well.

Julia had a lifelong love of learning, and was an avid reader of novels, collecting hundreds of books from her favorite authors. Tied to this, she had a deep love of language and a sharp ear for alliteration and humorous turns of phrase. She enjoyed such things throughout her life, and expressed it herself by engaging in mutual insult games with key family members, as well as by granting her friends and family with a variety of affectionate, and sometimes subtly, but delightfully, embarrassing nicknames. These were often modified and added to over time, taking on lives of their own. In return, she graciously received nicknames in kind, and was variously referred to, lovingly, as Julio, Jules, Blanche, Sissy, and Auntie Doodah, among many other names. 

Julia was a woman with a strong sense of personal pride and dignity, but was also a woman of faith, was humble and self-deprecating. She likely did not fully appreciate the outsized impact she had, and will continue to have, on so many family members and friends. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Julia was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Joel. She is survived by her husband, Jim Wade; her sons, Erin and Gabe, their wives Marnie Wade (née Kerr) and Michelle Wade (née Montavan); her grandchildren Savannah, Ethan, and Devin, Savannah’s Husband Matt Brown and Ethan’s Fiancée Dasie Newkirk; her great grandchildren, Miles and Rylin; and her sister Jill and her husband, Stephen McNeill.

Memorial visitation will be held 4:00 - 6:00 PM, Friday December 27, 2024 at the Horner-Merritt Funeral Home, 800 Monroe Street, Mendota.  Memorial service will be 11:00 AM, Saturday December 28th at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Compton, IL.  Memorials can be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Compton.  Visit www.horner-merritt.com to sign online guestbook.