In Memoriam
THE ACADEMY RECOGNIZES
LAUREATES OR MEMBERS
Ryne Sandberg, July 2025
Lincoln Laureate and Rector for Sports Ryne Sandberg passed away on July 28, 2025.
The Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Cubs second baseman received The Order of Lincoln in 2017 and served as Rector for Sports for the past 7 years.
The incredibly talented Cubs second baseman was named to the All-Star team 10 years in a row and won 9 straight Gold Glove awards. Over 16 seasons, Sandberg crushed 282 home runs, 277 of which were as a second baseman, then a Major League record. He hit 25+ homers five times and stole 30+ bases five times.
Sandberg bravely battled cancer the last two years. He was 65.
Sandberg was an outstanding supporter of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and was a distinguished Illinoisan who truly represented the best of humanity. He will be greatly missed by all and we extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Margaret and the entire Sandberg family.
Robert Ontiveros, February 2022
Robert Ontiveros, 2013 Lincoln Laureate, passed away on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at home with his wife, Blenda, and other family members by his side. He was 83.
Born Aug. 17, 1938, Ontiveros was the third of 11 children raised in humble circumstances in what is now known as the Floreciente neighborhood in Moline. He left college in the last semester of his senior year when his funds ran out, and started his business by knocking on factory doors selling packaging material and equipment from the family station wagon. That became Group O, one of the ten largest Hispanic owned companies in the United States, a multi-million-dollar enterprise with over 1,500 employees and 34 facilities across the nation.
Ontiveros was bestowed the Order of Lincoln in 2013 as one of the nation's most successful Latino entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
Judith Harvey Bartholf, July 2021
1938 - 2021
Springfield, IL-Judith Harvey Bartholf, known as Fudy to her friends and family, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 3, 2021, at Memorial Medical Center.
Judy was born on August 18, 1938, in Springfield, Illinois, to Harry and Clascenna Hinton Harvey.
She was a graduate of Springfield High School and Brown's Business College. Judy passionately served as the Executive Director of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois for 32 years. She also made noteworthy contributions to the Junior League of Springfield, the Boys and Girls Club, and Planned Parenthood. Judy was a proud mother and inspiring grandmother to her family. Her legacy of leadership, compassion, and etiquette carry on through the lives of those who were blessed to be in her presence.
Judy was preceded in death by her sister, Lois H. Carroll.
She is survived by her three children, Stephen P. (wife, Kelly) Bartholf, Jr. of Hollister, CA, Charles H. (wife, Tracy) Bartholf of Naples, FL, and Ann Hathaway of Travelers Rest, SC; and four grandchildren, Stephen A. Bartholf, Sarah J. Bartholf LaMana, Brenna P. Bartholf, and Charles H. Bartholf II.
Judy did not wish to have a funeral ceremony. We may individually choose to celebrate her life by engaging in philanthropic endeavors and living with intention as Judy exemplified throughout her lifetime.
Cremation was provided by Lincoln Land Cremation Society.
Richard Driehaus, March 2021
All the members of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Richard Driehaus (Laureate 2017).
Richard Driehaus' (second from left) extraordinary success in the investment management industry fueled his transformational philanthropic gifts in the built environment, education, arts and culture, investigative journalism, and economic opportunity for the working poor. His philanthropy was been guided by a philosophy that giving back to society makes for a fuller life, viewing philanthropy as a form of inquiry; a way of learning about the world. According to Mr. Driehaus, 'Like investing, it requires strategic thinking, innovation and tolerance of risk. Failures can be as important as successes'.
In appreciation of the important role of education in his life, gifts to educational institutions included donating $30 million in 2012 to DePaul's business school, now named the Richard H. Driehaus College of Business, to support faculty recruitment and retention. (He graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1965 and a master's in business administration in 1970.) He also generously supported his undergraduate alma maters: St. Ignatius College Prep High School and St. Margaret of Scotland Grammar School.
A vocal advocate for the application of humanistic values in the built environment, Mr. Driehaus nurtured his passion for architecture by funding initiatives in design excellence and historic preservation. In 2003, through the University of Notre Dame, he established the annual Richard H. Driehaus Prize, presented to a living architect who has shown dedication to traditional and classical design. In 2008, he completed a five-year restoration of the 1883 Samuel M. Nickerson Mansion in Chicago. The Gilded-Age residence is now the Richard H. Driehaus Museum featuring historically appropriate pieces from the Driehaus collection of Fine and Decorative Arts.
Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mr. Driehaus is the son of an engineer at a firm that designed and manufactured coal-mining equipment. As a boy, he developed an appreciation for architecture while working his newspaper route. He credited his coin-collecting hobby with introducing him early on to the dynamics of quotes and price changes. His interest in the stock market began at age 13 and, at 15, he made his first stock purchase.
After rising through the ranks of various financial firms, he established Driehaus Capital Management in 1982. Mr. Driehaus gained prominence by popularizing "momentum investing," the practice of identifying and buying stocks that are doing well and holding them while they continue to rise. In 2000, he was named to Barron's magazine's "All-Century" team of 25 individuals identified as the most influential within the mutual fund industry over the past 100 years.
Services are pending
Marla Todd
Stanley Balzekas, June 2020
We are sad to announce the passing passing of Stanley Balzekas, Jr., on June 18, 2020.
Stanley founded the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture. He was a long time member of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, and a decorated World War II veteran.
Read more about Stanley's storied life at
Lowell L. Sneller, February 2020
West Moines - Lowell L. Sneller, age 71, passed into the presence of his Savior on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.
Of Dutch heritage, Lowell was born in northwest Iowa and received a B.S. and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. He worked briefly in campus ministry, then earned an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. For many years he served as a systems analyst for the State of Iowa.
His hobbies followed a studious bent: he explored learning how the mind worked and developed his own thinking system. He and his wife also launched a pro bono website, AbrahamLincolnOnline.org, which earned them the Order of Lincoln in 2009. In retirement he enjoyed meeting visitors to local historic sites as a tour guide and site interpreter.
He is survived by his wife, Rhoda of 46 years; brothers, Vernon (Pauline), Marvin (Peg) and Lynn (Denise); as well as many nieces and nephews. Lowell was preceded in death by his parents; an infant brother; and sister and brother-in-law, Arlene and Willie Roemmich.
No public services are planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Meals from the Heartland. Condolences may be expressed at HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.
Published in Des Moines Register from Feb. 15 to Feb. 16,
Paul Findley, August 2019
Paul Findley, Class of 1980 Lincoln Laureate, an 11-term Republican congressman from Illinois who was known for supporting civil rights and opposing the Vietnam War, died Aug. 9 at a hospital in Jacksonville, Ill. He was 98.
Mr. Findley was the publisher of a small-town weekly newspaper when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960. Being a native of the Land of Lincoln, he often invoked Lincoln in his campaign rallies and could quote his speeches from memory.
During his 22 years in Congress, Mr. Findley served on the Agriculture Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, while cultivating an image as something of a maverick. He was a "conservative Republican" when he first ran for Congress, but he consistently supported civil rights legislation proposed by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s. In 1965, Mr. Findley appointed the first African American page in the House of Representatives.
Mr. Findley was a Navy veteran of World War II, an author of the War Powers Act, and pushed for federal farm subsidies, introduced a resolution to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Spiro Agnew, who later resigned amid a corruption scandal.
In 1974, Mr. Findley helped obtain the release of a schoolteacher from his district who had been arrested in South Yemen and charged with being a spy. In his travels, Mr. Findley visited refugee camps and reached out to Arafat and other Arab leaders. At the time, Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization was designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government. Mr. Findley did not support recognition of the PLO, but he said in 1980 that "it makes sense for us to talk to the PLO, to communicate with them and try to influence their behavior. It would reduce tension and conflict in that area. We can't wish the Palestinians away - they're a fact."
Harrison Irwin Steans, February 2019
July 3, 1935 - February 26, 2019
A memorial service will be held in the Martin Theater at Ravinia on March 9 at 10:00 a.m., 418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park.
Contributions in Harrison's memories can be made to North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School (c/o Suellen Wolk, 1315 South Sacramento Drive, Chicago, IL 60623), or to Ravinia Festival (c/o Marie Roth, Ravinia Tribute Fund, 418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL 60035).
Harrison Steans applied astute business acumen to become a legendary Chicago banker and philanthropist whose strategic community investments empowered individuals and revitalized neighborhoods. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois on May 6, 2017 in Chicago.
Committed to the belief that long-term personal involvement with individuals can change lives and communities, he created the Steans Family Foundation in 1986 to sponsor a sixth-grade
class through the "I Have a Dream" program, which works with students in under-resourced public schools or housing projects. Over time, the foundation focused its philanthropy on one of Chicago's neediest communities, North Lawndale. A hands-on philanthropist, Mr. Steans earned national acclaim for his passionate work to improve the future of North Lawndale by empowering its residents. Expanding that network of influence, Steans committed $5 million in 2001 to establish and endow the Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning at DePaul University. Today, the Steans Center is a dynamic, multifaceted community engagement center that supports student learning, community development and faculty teaching and scholarship.
Devoted in his service to corporate and nonprofit boards, Mr. Steans served as director of Provest Holdings, LLC, Elektra Holding Company, LLC, Boulevard Healthcare, LLC, and USAmeribancorp, Inc. His community involvement included serving as a life trustee of DePaul University, Highland Park Hospital and Ravinia Festival. He also served on boards of Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago Botanic Garden and The Ounce of Prevention Fund.
Mr. Steans spent the early part of his life in Springfield and left after earning a full scholarship to Princeton University. After graduating, Mr. Steans worked at IBM Corp. as an assistant to the chairman. In 1967, he left his job with IBM, created the Financial Investments Corporation, or FIC, and bought Hyde Park Bank. Mr. Steans quickly turned the bank around and began purchasing others, including First National Bank of Highland Park (1968), Marina Bank (1969), Bank of Elk Grove (1970), Woodfield Bank (de novo-1971), Citizens Bank & Trust Company (1985) and First National Bank of Skokie (1985). By the time Mr. Steans and his investors sold the banks to NBD Corp. in 1987, they were worth $1.8 billion in total assets. From 1973 to 1978, he also served as chairman of LaSalle National Bank. He was chairman of FIC's Executive Committee and served as trustee of the Steans Family Foundation.
Through the years, Mr. Steans led other successful bank transformations. In 1994, a group led by him acquired a controlling interest in PCB Bancorp Inc. With Mr. Steans as its chairman, PCB Bancorp grew from a single-bank holding company with $64 million in assets to a four-bank holding company with approximately $675 million in assets. In 2008, Mr. Steans led a group that made a significant investment in Cole Taylor Bank in the midst of the financial crisis. After Mr. Steans helped lead the bank back to safety, MB Financial acquired Cole Taylor in 2014.
Harrison is survived by his sister, Adeline Morrison, his wife of 61 years, Lois, his three daughters, Jennifer (Jim Kastenholz), Heather (Leo Smith), and Robin (Leonard Gail), seven grandchildren, Ryan, Sam, Abby, Jessica, Leah, Sydney, and Nick, and many beloved nieces and grand-nephews and grand-nieces. He will be remembered by all who knew him not just for his many and significant accomplishments, but for his personal integrity, sense of social justice, and his warmth and playful sense of humor.
John H. Bryan, October 2018
Our condolences to the family of Laureate John H. Bryan, who was named as a laureate in 1993 at a Convocation ceremony held on the DePaul University campus in Chicago at the Merle Reskin Theatre.
John H. Bryan was a 1993 Lincoln Laureate in the area of Business and Social Services. He was a Mississippi native who moved to Chicago in 1969 and was the 1992 Crain's Chicago Business Executive of the Year. Under his leadership as Chairman of the Board and CEO, Sara Lee Corporation contributed to non-profit organizations promoting culture and the arts and providing assistance to the needy and disadvantaged. Bryan was honored by the French Republic with the Legion of Honor for his cultural and civic contributions, including playing a major role in the United State's participation in the French Bicentennial celebration.
Richard Gray, May 2018
Richard Gray, Art Dealer and Life-long Chicagoan, Dies
Our condolences to the family of Laureate Richard Gray. Mr. Gray and Mary Lackritz Gray were named Laureates as a couple in 2011 at a Convocation ceremony held on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Richard Gray was a lifelong Chicagoan with an international reputation in the arts. The Richard Gray Gallery, founded in Chicago in 1963, is one of the leading dealers in modern and contemporary American and European art. The gallery was one of the first spaces in the city to show work by some of the day's most prominent artists, among them Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Hans Hofmann, Louise Nevelson, and Jim Dine, as well as works by modernists like Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, Josef Albers, Milton Avery, and many others. Other artists to show at the gallery would include Andy Warhol, Philip Guston, Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, and Richard Diebenkorn.
Richard was a Life Trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Goodman Theater, and the Founding Vice-Chairman of the Chicago Humanities Festival. He was former president of the Art Dealers Association of America and the Chicago Art Dealers Association and was vice chairman of the Friends of the Farnsworth House, where he helped oversee the preservation of its Mies van der Rohe-designed building.
In 2008, the Art Institute named a wing after Gray and his wife, Mary; the museum's holdings include prints and drawings by Peter Paul Rubens, Eugène Delacroix, Henri Matisse, and others that previously belonged to the couple. Three years later, the couple gave $5 million to the University of Chicago, which went on to form the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, a forum that continues to promote art-historical research.
Bob Malott, April 2018
Robert Malott, former chairman and CEO of FMC Corporation Dies
Our condolences to the family of Robert Malott (Class of 1995 Lincoln Laureate). Bob was a true original. He had a larger than life personality, a quick sense of humor, and lived his life with great passion, joy and purpose.
He and his wife, Elizabeth Hubert 'Ibby' Malott, a Regent of the Academy and instrumental in the design and development of the Student Laureate Program, were loyal allies of the organization for many years.
Robert "Bob" H. Michel, February 2017
Robert "Bob" H. Michel
Peoria Journal Star
PEORIA - Robert Henry Michel, 93, of Washington, D.C., formerly of Peoria, died early Friday morning, February, 17, 2017, at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va.
Michel was born in Peoria, IL, on March 2, 1923, to Charles H. and Anna (Baer) Michel. He married Corinne Woodruff on December 26, 1948.
Michel was preceded in death by his parents, a sister and his wife, Corinne. He is survived by a sister; four children, Scott of Chicago, Ill., Bruce of San Antonio, Texas, Laurie of Alexandria, Va., and Robin of San Francisco, Calif.; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Michel graduated from Peoria High School, the president of his class, and attended one semester at Bradley University in Peoria, prior to joining the Army in World War II. Michel landed in Normandy on the fourth day of the D-Day invasion of Europe; he received two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart and four battle stars.
Upon returning from the war, he re-enrolled at Bradley University and graduated with a degree in business administration. Michel began a career in politics that spanned nearly 50 years. He served as the top Republican in the House for 14 years, during a transformative era in American history. Bob led Republicans through the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and in the years preceding the transfer of power in Congress from Democratic to Republican for the first time in 40 years.
Michel had a reputation as a skilled legislative craftsman, who knew his members, and who could achieve consensus among his colleagues, making him a vital and indispensable ally. Michel orchestrated the talents of a leadership team that included three future Cabinet secretaries, a Vice President and a future Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.
Michel was known as a straight shooter whose word was as good as gold, and his firm handshake a guarantee of good faith. The hallmark of his tenure was his deep respect for Congress as an institution of government, his respect for his colleagues and the practice of civility in the deliberation of public policy.
Brenda Barnes, January 2017
Brenda Barnes, former CEO of Sara Lee and Lincoln Academy Laureate Dies
The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is saddened to hear that Brenda Barnes, former CEO of Sara Lee and 2013 Lincoln Laureate, has passed away at the age of 63 on January 15, 2017. According to an article posted on Fortune by Patricia Sellers, 'This past Sunday night, during her sleep, Barnes had another stroke. She died about 3 p.m. today at Edward Hospital in Naperville, surrounded by her children Jeff, Erin, and Brian.' Our deepest condolences go out to all of her family and loved ones. She will be missed and has left a lasting impression on all who knew her.
Thomas S. Johnson, Chancellor (2010 - 2015), February 2016
Thomas S. Johnson was born in Rockford, Illinois, and graduated from Rockford College and Harvard Law School.
Tom was a true visionary and his commitment and dedication to the Academy's mission will carry on. He was a real leader - he was kind and a collaborator. He led with a firm hand from behind the scenes as often as he could. Tom chaired the planning for this Bicentennial Convocation in the spring of 2009. This is language taken form a letter that was sent to announce the ceremony:
"The 2009 Convocation was especially historic. To honor the memory of our 16th president on the bicentennial of his birth, a Bicentennial Edition of The Order of Lincoln Medallion was conferred on 30 distinguished citizens of the world who have in lasting and significant ways preserved the memory of Abraham Lincoln. The categories to be honored are: 1. For preserving and enhancing the memory of Abraham Lincoln by scholars beyond Illinois. 2. For preserving and enhancing the memory of Abraham Lincoln by scholars within Illinois. 3. For preserving and enhancing the memory of Abraham Lincoln by curators and collectors. 4. For preserving and enhancing the memory of Abraham Lincoln by an artist, designer, or popular author. 5. For preserving and enhancing the memory of Abraham Lincoln by the unsung heroes of the Lincoln Canon."
For over thirty years, he provided leadership to a wide range of professional organizations serving as President of his local bar association, a member of the Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association, and a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He served as Chairman of four national commissions of the American Bar Association, testified on behalf of the American Bar Association at the Access to Justice hearings of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and chaired the ABA's National Conference on Legal Services and the Public. He served as co-chair of a Joint Commission of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association to survey the legal needs of the citizens of Illinois, which was instrumental in devising better ways for the Illinois Bar to meet the legal needs of the indigent. He was one of the founders of the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, a major funding source for legal aid offices across the state and served as Chancellor of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers. He was the author of numerous articles for professional journals and delivered major speeches at meetings of the American Bar Association and of fourteen different state bar associations. In 1997 he received the Award of Honor from the Illinois State Bar Association for a "lifetime of service to the public and the profession."
Mr. Johnson was a staunch supporter of the cause of education, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Rockford College; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education; and member of the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University. In 1990 he chaired a state bar association task force to determine how best to respond to bigotry and hate speech on college and university campuses and was the author of the final report of the task force "If Words Could Kill". Since 1987 Mr. Johnson served as President of the Board of Directors of Illinois Boys State, which conducts an annual week-long leadership conference on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. In 1989 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Rockford College for his service to the cause of education. Mr. Johnson was a Regent of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and chaired its Lincoln Bicentennial Committee. He also served as Chairman of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of Winnebago County and the Lincoln Bicentennial Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Abraham Lincoln Association.