Juliet Van Pelt Roth

Juliet "Julie" Van Pelt Roth, 84, passed away on July 3, 2024, in Evanston, Illinois. Julie was born on August 19, 1939, in Chicago to James S. Van Pelt and Jean Barkdull Van Pelt. She was raised in Evanston and LaPorte, Indiana and also lived for a time in Florida. In 1956, at the age of 16, Julie graduated from Evanston Township High School (ETHS) and then attended Rollins College, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1960. During college, she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Julie returned to Chicago after college to work for IBM, and she soon met her husband of 46 years, Ernest M. Roth. They were married from 1962 until Ernest's death in 2008. Julie was married to Robert Hastings from 2019 until his passing in 2021. She was also preceded in death by her parents and her beloved older brother, James S. Van Pelt, Jr. Julie is survived by her three children, Ernie (Mary), Jennifer, and Jim (Katy); seven grandchildren, Ernie, Matthew, Hannah, Chase, Alex, Robert, and Elizabeth Roth; nephew Jeff Van Pelt; and niece Cathy MacKinnon.

Throughout her life, Julie was fiercely dedicated to her family. She was a den mother, baseball coach, nurse, tutor, carpool driver and booster. "Grammie" cherished her grandchildren, staying in touch with calls, cards, texts and by attending their milestone events and family outings across the country. Julie loved talking sports, politics, cars, grammar and family history with her children and grandchildren. Her early morning phone calls to say "Happy Birthday" will be deeply missed by her loved ones.

She maintained many close friendships from her childhood and school years and regularly shared stories about her days at Haven School, ETHS and her parents' home on Asbury near the Evanston community golf course. Julie enjoyed being around people of all ages. She loved everything that represented the good in America and had immense gratitude for all who secured her freedoms.

Julie grew up playing many sports with her brother and friends. Tennis became her favorite because she enjoyed running, and it remained a passion of hers for more than 70 years. Long before Title IX, Julie starred as a junior player despite no organized high school sports for girls in Illinois. She played collegiately at Rollins and then continued high-level, competitive tennis through United States Tennis Association (USTA) and club events for most of her adult life. Julie was twice a national champion, teaming with Jennifer to win USTA mother-daughter titles in 2009 and earn the much-coveted USTA Gold Ball for each. She also gave back to the game locally, serving on the board of the Chicago Tennis Patrons (now Serve & Return Chicago), captaining many tennis and paddle tennis teams and supporting racquet sports however she could.

Julie was a member of the Church of the Holy Comforter for more than 50 years, serving as an usher and participating actively in the community.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 12, at Donnellan Family Funeral Services, 10045 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, Illinois. The funeral service will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 13, at the Church of the Holy Comforter, 222 Kenilworth Avenue, Kenilworth, Illinois. Interment will take place at a later date.

A live stream of Julie's funeral service will be available at www.holycomforter.org.

Contributions may be made to the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation at www.carcinoid.org or the Janardan D. Khandekar, MD Personalized Medicine Innovation Fund at give.northshore.org.