Mayor Joe Werner; A Legacy of Service and Community

Mayor Joe Werner cared deeply about Mokena and its people. He served as both Village Trustee and Mayor and made many lasting contributions to Mokena. He sadly passed away on Christmas Eve of 2023 after fighting brain cancer. I am honored that we get to share some of Mayor Joe’s story and all he did to make our Village a better place.

If you would like to share your thoughts or stories about Mayor Joe on our podcast, you can call and leave a message with your thoughts and memories at 872-255-9259. Be sure to  leave your message by the 4th of July, 2024. At that time we will release an updated episode with those messages included in the episode. It will be a great community tribute to Mayor Joe Werner.

Please support The Veterans Garage! www.VeteransGarage.com
And the Mokena VFW! http://www.vfwpost725.org/home.html
Be sure to follow Matt’s Blog, Matt’s Old Mokena https://oldmokena.blogspot.com/       

Transcript

Israel: 0:00

Welcome to Mokina's Front Porch a Mokina history podcast with Matt Galek and me, israel Smith. Many just refer to him as Mayor Joe, but Joe Warner was a village trustee for 12 years in Mokina and he also served eight years as the mayor of Mokina. But his time here really was so much more than that, and especially the years since he left office as mayor. During his time in Waukena he had a lasting effect on our village that will be appreciated for years to come. You'll hear about a lot of those accomplishments in this episode as I speak to people that knew him, that worked with him, that loved him and that ran against him. But one thing from all of those people is true that they believe that Joe cared for Wokina and that he did what was best for our village.

Israel: 0:47

I'm excited I got to share this story of Mayor Joe Warner. I believe Mayor Joe loved Mokina very much and he loved his wife and daughter, who I also got to speak to for this episode. Pat and Joe were married for 40 years and had a daughter, amanda. We get to hear some great stories and memories that they share about the time that they had together. This episode includes thoughts from Mayor Frank Fleischer, former and current village trustees, co-workers and friends. I'm really happy I got to share this story. I'm glad we get to highlight somebody who had such a significant and long-lasting effect on our village.

Israel: 1:26

I want to give you an opportunity to include your thoughts or memories about Mayor Joe in this episode. So if you have thoughts or memories about Mayor Joe that you'd like to share on this podcast, you can call and leave your voicemail at 872-255-9259, and we'll include that in an episode. I'm going to leave that open until July 4th, so any voicemail that's received before that will be included in an updated episode. So again, you can call us, leave us a voicemail at 872-255-9259. You can also email it to us at podcast at Mokina's Front Porch if you want to send it as a voice file. So I hope to hear your thoughts about Mayor Joe. I really hope you'll share this story with others and share the story of Mayor Joe for years to come as someone who played a significant role in the history of our village. Be sure to watch the YouTube video of this episode as well for pictures and video clips, as well as some of my live interview of both Pat and Amanda Joe's wife and daughter.

Israel: 2:36

You can find that by going to YouTube and searching Mokina's Front Porch. I'm happy I get to share some of the story of Mayor Joe Werner. I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to call and leave your comments and stories as well. Okay, well, thank you both for sitting down and talking with me tonight, and I'm sure it's not easy. Mayor Joe passed away not that long ago Christmas Eve and, as I know, as I've gotten to talk to people you know, you hear about the impact he made, the contribution he made and the love that he had for Mokina, and so I really wanted to talk to you both. You know, get his story, get your story. You know Amanda, talk to you about what it was like growing up as a child of a trustee and then a mayor, and then Pat, of course, kind of your story, how you came to know each other and ended up here in Mokena and that. So maybe just start with that. Where were you born?

Pat: 3:38

I was born in Chicago and lived there until I was like six, I think, and then we moved to Blue Island and lived there until I was like six, I think. And then we moved to Blue Island and I met Joe when I was I had just started working downtown and we had a mutual friend who introduced us like a blind date type thing.

Israel: 3:56

And he was living in the city as well.

Pat: 3:58

No, he was out here too. He was in Palos.

Israel: 4:00

Oh, okay.

Pat: 4:02

So we ended up meeting, although I really wasn't into like a blind date thing. So I originally told him no, that I didn't want to go on a date, and then he ended up sending me some roses.

Amanda: 4:12

Wow.

Pat: 4:13

And so then he said, will you please go out with me now? So we ended up going out and hitting it off.

Israel: 4:18

And what were your first impressions?

Pat: 4:20

Just a really nice friendly guy and we just hit it off because he was so easygoing and friendly and outgoing and everything and I was more on the shy side, so it was nice that he was like that more outgoing and everything.

Israel: 4:33

And how old were you both when you met?

Pat: 4:36

I was 19 when we met and he was like 24.

Israel: 4:40

Okay, and what was he doing at the time?

Pat: 4:42

He was doing plumbing, because that's what he started doing, and then he ended up owning his own plumbing company.

Israel: 4:51

And was his family in plumbing, or how did he get into doing plumbing?

Pat: 4:55

Yeah, it was like a family thing. His dad worked for a plumbing company and then Joe started working at the same company. His brother was a plumber. It was like a lot of people in the family were plumbers.

Israel: 5:04

Okay, and jumping a little bit, he had the plumbing business. For is it 40?, Was it?

Pat: 5:11

40 years? Yeah, it would be 40 years.

Israel: 5:13

Yeah, and so kind of how did that come about? He had a. Did he have a partner in that?

Pat: 5:19

Well, we were married about a year and then he decided he wanted to open his own company. So it was a little bit scary because we hadn't been married that long, but we decided he'd go ahead and take the chance and he started on his own. At first it was just Werner Plumbing, and then after a few years he decided to go into business with his brother-in-law, so then it became Werner Nugent Plumbing and they were partners for quite a while and then his partner, tom, decided to retire, and then Joe brought his cousin into the company and then he was his partner, alex Kazmerzak.

Pat: 5:54

So he's kind of who's running the company today?

Israel: 5:57

now, and tell me where was Mayor Joe born?

Pat: 6:02

He was born in Evergreen Park. They lived in Longwood. They lived in Longwood and Beverly for quite a while and they had, I guess, one of those big houses in Beverly and they had a lot of good memories there.

Israel: 6:16

Did he have a big family?

Pat: 6:18

He has two sisters and a brother and his mom's side of the family is pretty big, so there was a lot of people on her side of the family is pretty big. So there was a lot of people on her side of the family that they used to get together for a lot of parties and things like that, and then they were there until I think he was about 15 and then they moved to Palos. And then he lived there with them for a little while, until he went on his own.

Israel: 6:37

Any memories that you remember of him in Chicago?

Pat: 6:42

I know him and his friends used to go out. Well, I guess they used to come out this way before like all the streets were out here. They used to go on Will Cook Road, I guess, when it was like didn't go anywhere and they'd bring their cars and run, you know, in the snow and kind of you know drive around and everything. So he said they used to have a lot of fun coming out this way back then because nothing was really going on, you know the streets and everything.

Israel: 7:03

So but yeah, Wow, so you guys meet. You're young still. How long are you dating? What's?

Pat: 7:13

that time, like so we met in 81 and we got married in 83. And then we lived in Oak Forest for 10 years until we decided to move out this way. And I guess just we heard schools were really good out here and everything. So we decided to come out more this way and Amanda was pretty little she was four when we moved out here. But we moved on the block and the people that were here were so friendly and we made friends right away and it was just like a great block to move on to.

Israel: 7:46

And this is the house you moved into.

Pat: 7:48

Yes.

Israel: 7:49

What do you remember, Amanda? What was that like?

Speaker 2: 7:52

I loved growing up here. When we first moved in here I don't remember it explicitly, but I do remember it was like the first night and there was nothing in the house and we had like all these little plastic chairs and these little kids came over and all of a sudden it was like the birth of all these very long-lasting friendships.

Israel: 8:10

What was this neighborhood like? Were there a lot of kids here? Did you make a lot of friends?

Speaker 2: 8:15

Yeah, so some of my longest-lasting friendships. There's a house right across the street. Nicole and I have been friends since we were four. We were each other's bridesmaids. We work out together every week and we're best friends. And then across the street, I'm really close with them. So, yeah, there was a lot of kids and we all were really close and some moved away.

Speaker 2: 8:36

Some most of them have kind of stayed but we all have a good relationship and it's really nice because all the parents were close and then all the kids were close, so we'd have block parties where the parents were having their fun and then the kids were having their fun in the fire hydrant and whatever else.

Pat: 8:50

The fire department would come.

Speaker 2: 8:51

It was the best childhood, honestly, because we all had similar ages and I being an only child, it was really nice. I never felt like one, because all I had to do was walk outside and there was 20 kids waiting to play kickball.

Israel: 9:04

So it was great. That's awesome, you know, funny enough, we moved here, and my son it was the weekend before he turned four.

Speaker 2: 9:11

Oh.

Israel: 9:11

So I think it's kind of he's an only child, oh okay, similar and one of his best friends is a kid that ran down the street three houses down met the first day we were there.

Speaker 2: 9:21

Yeah, so that's neat. I think that's pretty cool to have a similar experience. Yeah Right, it's truly my longest lasting friend. I have a friend, adam, who lives on that block. They're literally like a core group of my best friends and we're still that close today. It's very nice.

Israel: 9:38

Very cool, yeah. So how long were you in town before Joe got involved in politics?

Pat: 9:45

Well, so we moved into 94. And when we moved in, we were kind of under the impression that our cul-de-sac was going to stay a cul-de-sac. And within a couple of years that we were here, it came up that they were thinking about putting the street through.

Israel: 9:58

Oh, wow.

Pat: 9:59

Yeah, and so we weren't real thrilled about that. And so Joe was kind of the person on the block that kind of started going to the meetings and finding out more information about what was going to happen, and so he just kept going to the meetings and everything and we decided we really didn't want the neighbors and everything to decide, we didn't really want the street to go through, and so it ended up where he worked with the board and everything and it ended up where the street didn't go through. They just put in like an access road down there, so fire department or vehicles that they have to go through, because that's I guess the main reason to have a street go through is that emergency vehicles can get through. There is still a way to, because they made that little road instead so they could get through if they needed to.

Israel: 10:43

So him going there, so he's responsible for the little pathway there.

Pat: 10:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah so him going and talking to the village and getting to know them. And yeah, he just kind of got an interest in the government thing and within a few years he decided to run for trustee. And then he got in when he ran and then after that he took a little break and then he ran for mayor a few years after that and he got in as mayor and he served two terms.

Israel: 11:11

So he didn't go from mayor or from trustee to mayor. There was a couple years in between.

Pat: 11:16

Yeah, there was a little break, yeah.

Israel: 11:18

So what was that like for you? You know as a wife now, especially small town, there's a lot. It gets a little intense.

Pat: 11:27

Yeah, it's a little bit of getting used to. Like I said, I'm more like on the quieter shyer side. So, but it was a good experience and I went to a lot of the events with him and things like that and got to know a lot of people in the community. So that was really nice and it was really good. He enjoyed it so much it was, he had so much passion for doing it. That just made me feel like this is his calling and I, you know, supported him doing that.

Israel: 11:51

Yeah, yeah. And Amanda, how about you Like talk? A little bit about what, what that public life meant to you.

Speaker 2: 11:58

I enjoyed it. I think I was scared to get in trouble. Mayor's daughter wanted to be on her best behavior. But yeah, I mean it's funny. I look back and I remember some of the, you know, really fun memories. One of the election nights this house was full of people and it was so loud and, like all the little kids were on this island, we're all like waiting that's on the TV and all of a sudden it was. Was it when he won, mayor?

Speaker 2: 12:22

yeah, he won, and this whole house erupted and it was just like it was like past my bedtime, like it was so much fun. It was crazy and it was. I really enjoyed it because I think it was really fun. We always had people over. I think there was hard times too because he had, you know, the meetings a lot in his full-time job, so it it was stressful for him at times, but he did a good job balancing all of it and still being a good dad, a good husband. You know he did all of it. He was really a talented person.

Israel: 12:48

Do you remember seeing as a, as a kid, like the stress, or seeing what kind of the effect on him?

Speaker 2: 12:54

No, not really, Not until he got older, Did he kind of voice how you know stressful it was to kind of have all those things, but I never really saw it as much. Um, on Monday nights he had board meetings so sometimes I'd go and do my homework at the village hall and wait for him and that was kind of the only extent I really remembered of kind of him being stressed out by it.

Pat: 13:17

I mean, there were a lot of times he'd have a lot of stuff in one week where he wouldn't be home a lot during the week because he'd have, like, a board meeting and then he'd have other commitments that he'd have to go to. So he felt a little bit guilty about that, because he said he wouldn't be home, like you know. Sure it was just kind of me watching.

Israel: 13:32

Well, and how old would you have been at? So when he first, you know, ran for trustee and then mayor, like what was?

Pat: 13:38

your age. So, let's see, you were probably about 10 or 12. Yeah, I think like 10 or 12. I think he was still mayor when I was in high school.

Speaker 2: 13:45

Yeah, when I was like 16, I think was the end of yeah because he was a mayor from 05 to 13.

Pat: 13:50

Yeah, so I graduated in 2018. Yeah, so. Yeah Kind of the beginning of teenage I guess yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 14:09

So it was always like anywhere we went. Oh, mayor joe blah blah blah and be an hour at, etc. Because 40 people saw him. So, uh, yeah, he was very approachable he loved talking to people, yeah, yeah.

Pat: 14:22

So he would never like not talk and conversations would get kind of long and everything. You're trying to pull him out. I'd be like I'm walking home.

Israel: 14:30

I'm not waiting, et cetera. It was always at restaurants.

Speaker 2: 14:33

He would see all these people, but they always had such nice things to say to him and they always couldn't wait to see him and hug him and I mean he really was just just.

Pat: 14:42

Yeah, I think that's why people like him so much is because he was just so approachable and just friendly and, you know, everyone just loved him. Yeah, wow, yeah, that's interesting.

Israel: 14:51

Yeah, um, so tell me about did uh, when, during he was met, when he was mayor in those times, was he involved? Was he able to be involved in other things, like civically, like any, any organizations or groups or any kind of causes that he got involved in?

Pat: 15:08

Well, he eventually started getting more involved with the veterans things because, even like when he was mayor, he would have a Fourth of July breakfast, usually in the parking lot over at Etc, and a lot of the veterans would come to that.

Israel: 15:23

What was that like? What would he do for breakfast there?

Pat: 15:26

It would be early in the morning before the parade, so all the veterans were invited to come to that if they wanted to, and then a lot of the motorcycle groups would come too, because there's a lot of veterans that are in the motorcycle groups and all the food would be outside and eggs and pancakes and all this stuff and it was free to them. They could just come and have breakfast before the parade and he really enjoyed doing that and Etcetera was really great because they'd always help with the food and everything. So that was always like the kickoff to the Fourth of July.

Pat: 15:54

Fourth of July was like a big day for him Between that and the parade and then eventually, when he got more into the military vehicles, then he had a lot of the military vehicles in the parade that were part of the Veterans Garage which he started, that nonprofit. And his birthday is July 6th, so he really enjoyed that week of July. Good reason to celebrate.

Israel: 16:16

Wow, that's cool. And the Veterans Garage kind of talk a little bit about how that came about.

Pat: 16:25

That kind of came about. He had a friend lived in Mokena who found out about that. It was easy to kind of buy these military vehicles that I think the government was selling or something. And he bought one and Joe saw it and kind of fell in love with it, the whole idea of it. So he bought a couple of them and then more guys found out about it and they just kind of started hanging around together and then Joe came up with the idea of having the veterans' garage where veterans could come and work on the vehicles. Plus the vehicles could be in shape for going in these parades and everything.

Pat: 16:55

Oh, wow or going to welcome homes when the soldiers would come home from things like that, or a funeral, or things like that too.

Speaker 2: 17:05

He did Aaron Toppin's funeral right.

Pat: 17:07

Yes, yeah, oh cool, wow, right, and there's a physical garage there, then there is, it's in Posen it's 11,000 square feet, wow yeah. Wow, but right now it's in the middle kind of being changed, um, because they decided to move it to a different location. It's going to be at the uh mantino veterans home oh really yeah they're in the process of moving things over there.

Speaker 2: 17:33

So it's where joe warner military museum.

Israel: 17:36

Really, yeah, yeah, that is awesome yeah and what's the time frame on that in the next?

Pat: 17:41

couple months. The next couple months yeah it's kind of in the process of packing things up and and different things like that, so, but in the next couple months there should be, it should be heading over there.

Israel: 17:51

I hope to hear more about that.

Pat: 17:52

It'd be neat to check that out because they did have like a museum and everything that people had been going to um they had a bunch of different rooms with setups of, of um, a lot of different things. But since then since now that they're moving everything's kind of closed down. But they hope to restart that again when they move it out there.

Israel: 18:08

Well, I remember we'd always see the truck out front, you know.

Pat: 18:11

Yeah, yeah.

Israel: 18:14

I'm sorry, amanda. What were you going to say?

Speaker 2: 18:15

Oh, I was just going to say. His cousins have really stepped up and are trying to keep his vision alive and it's a really big deal to them to kind of bring it to Manteno and kind of keep it going, especially for the veterans. And the actual veterans who live in the home they've said are like waiting, like can't wait to be the tour guides and, you know, just can't wait to show like their things and be a part of it, and so it's really nice that it's going to go from, you know, blue Island to Pozen. And even, you know, after he passed away, one of the veterans said to us without my dad I wouldn't be alive. Like, without Joe I wouldn't be here today, because he gave them this place to come and work on things when they lost, you know, when they had seen so much in serving and or, you know so when they came back they now had this place to go. So it's really special that it's going to continue for those people.

Israel: 19:09

Yeah.

Pat: 19:09

Yeah, and the core group of guys that were there from the beginning are still involved and helping with the move and everything and still going to be involved in when, when it moves out there too, yeah.

Israel: 19:18

Oh, that's really great to hear. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome uh, how about? Who are some of his best friends?

Pat: 19:27

well, his cousin, the one who he's partners with with the plumbing company. Um, they've been close for a long time. Um, he did have friends that he made being in the village, um, some of the trustees. He was still really close with One of the guys that's a trustee now, terry Germany. They were friends for a really long time. He's got friends that he's been friends with since he was little that he still keeps in touch with and everything. But yeah, so he was friends in all different groups. Yeah, but yeah, so he was friends in all different groups. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Israel: 20:02

How about anybody any mentors, anybody that really kind of helped him out with maybe learning about when he was running for village offices or anything like that?

Pat: 20:13

I think him just going to the meetings and everything and the different trustees, and the mayor at the time was Mayor Gruchowski. I think he was very welcoming to Joe and I think he kind of took him under his wing a little bit and, you know, kind of talked with him about things. So I think just a combination of the trustees and the different friendships. There was a gentleman that Chuck Manhart. He was really close with him and he was was an older gentleman that was really nice and I know that their friendship was really special. So he had some friendships like that throughout the village that were really special like that.

Israel: 20:53

How about was there anything of his that you'd say he considered a prized possession?

Speaker 3: 20:59

Me.

Israel: 21:01

Good answer from the daughter.

Pat: 21:02

Mostly me, if someone talked to him that's probably what he'd talk about and his granddaughter. I went down the totem pole when Delilah came, he was so crazy about.

Speaker 2: 21:15

Delilah.

Israel: 21:16

Well, amanda, let's talk about you a little bit. Okay, we talked about your youth, but maybe talk about you a little bit. Okay, we talked about you. You know your, your youth, but maybe you know what was. Uh, maybe thoughts about school as a young person, or um, and then um.

Speaker 2: 21:32

So, growing up with him, um, he was always super supportive because I wanted to move to the city. I knew I wanted to um move downtown, and he was so supportive of that and I actually went to Joliet Junior College for childcare and I was going to go on to be a teacher, but I had an idea to become a nanny downtown instead, and so he supported that and he actually helped me get my first job outside of Little Blossom, which is in Mokena. I worked there for three years as a daycare teacher, but then I'm like well, I got to get a job in the city, though I got to make my way down there, and so he helped get me a job with what is now called Boca Group. They have the restaurants like Girl on the Goat and all of that. He did the plumbing for Perennial, which was one of their first restaurants.

Speaker 2: 22:22

So my first job was a hostess at Landmark, which is now closed, but it was the greatest job. I wouldn't have got it without my dad, and so it opened up all these doors for me and he was so supportive, coming down and visiting me for dinner there and telling everyone oh, my daughter works here and all that. So, and then I continued to be and I ended up becoming an executive nanny for a decade, so I ended up doing that full time and he was always so excited about who I was going to interview with or what family or kind of all these things. So yeah, what?

Israel: 22:59

any special memories? You think? Just the two of you or things that were special?

Speaker 2: 23:05

to you. I love doing everything with him. Oh yeah, so when we, when I was 16, him and I went on a European getaway, and we went to Switzerland, france, uh, italy.

Speaker 2: 23:18

We started in New York. The three of us went to New York with a girlfriend and then my mom and the girlfriend flew home and me and my dad went on to Europe and we loved it and we had the best time. But it was the first time, like as a 16 year old girl, I'm away with my dad. He's like, wow, you're such a teenager.

Speaker 7: 23:33

You're so annoying. I'm like where's my phone, Like, oh, he's like very annoying, you lost your phone. Yeah, I lost my phone. He's like what?

Speaker 2: 23:41

And you know you're like 16. You're like my friends, they need me. He's like they don't You're fine. So it was just funny for us to be in that kind of scenario together. But he was so good at being he had and we talk about this all the time he was the most comforting person you've ever met. Like or you don't feel good, he could say anything Like I couldn't even think of all the sayings he has, but you feel better instantly. So on this trip I wasn't like feeling good. I lost my phone, blah, blah, blah, being a little teenager, and he just was like that's fine, like let's go do this. Like he could just, you know, turn it around right away. So we had a great time and we always talked about going back and it was a goal. And even last year me and my husband really wanted to make it work, but as he got more sick we got too scared to bring him that far.

Pat: 24:25

But he wanted to go to Normandy. Oh yeah, All the time He'd be like let's book it, let's book it, and so.

Speaker 2: 24:30

So I have a lot of my dad's personality where we were just very out like let's do it.

Speaker 7: 24:36

Very spontaneous.

Speaker 2: 24:38

My dad and I, if it was spontaneous, it was the best possible option. So we would say, let's just force mom Put her in the suit. Like she'll be fine.

Pat: 24:45

Even last year. We're like we're doing it, where I think about things. I have to have everything a certain way, yeah, and my dad's like let's just do it.

Speaker 2: 24:53

And I'm like don't tempt me, I'm going to book a flight and actually getting you know diagnosed. We went through all of those things when I was little. How old when you guys took me to Disney Three.

Speaker 2: 25:09

Three.

Speaker 2: 25:09

So we're dancing and there's a video of me and I have like curly hair like this, just like my daughter does now, and I'm sitting on my dad's shoulders and he has no hair, but he had hair on the side, so I'm like combing his hair, listening to beauty and the beast, like just the little sides, and I'm like on his shoulders and I'm so happy.

Speaker 2: 25:30

And so at our wedding, our first dance was him and I watching that on a big screen, dancing together. And so when he got sick he had waited his whole life to be a grandpa, I mean, he was so excited. And so he got sick only a year into us having Delilah, and I thought of all the times he said I want to go to Disney. Like I just knew that was something he was going to be so excited to do with our daughter. And so when he got sick, after he finished chemo and radiation, we gave him a piece of paper and it said we're so proud of you. Now pack your bags, we're going to disney and I booked us a flight and a trip.

Pat: 26:03

Picture up there and yeah there's a picture up there.

Speaker 2: 26:05

We booked this like big trip.

Israel: 26:07

Um yeah, oh, wow, that's awesome. What a great memory yeah so that was really nice.

Speaker 2: 26:16

he was not feeling. Oh yeah, he wasn't feeling a hundred percent, but he was never. He was the guy that if you asked him, even on his worst days, how he felt, I'm good, I'm good, never complained, never complained. And on this trip he's like let's buy this house. I'm like I'll buy it.

Speaker 2: 26:30

Let's do it, dad, because we were at an Airbnb and then we got back and even up until he got the most sick, let's just go back, bring me to Florida, bring me to Normandy, like he just that was. So my favorite memories are when I felt like the closest to him was kind of how we were the same, like let's just go do this, let's just go do that, like we loved that together.

Pat: 26:50

So yeah, that was probably all my favorite memories Little firecrackers, those two If we were together in like a doctor appointment.

Speaker 2: 26:58

She was like please let me out of the room Because we would just be like joking with the doctors and like I'm just so he's so chatty and he'll go on for hours with the doctors and so, yeah, he was just really good at making everything fun.

Israel: 27:12

Well, even in the darkest times he was the most fun, so so, back to kind of your youth a little bit and you know we talked about how kind of it was as mayor or with a mayor as dad, as your dad, so. But you graduated and we talked a little before, but you moved out of Mokena when Probably about 2009.

Speaker 2: 27:37

I was only 20. So I left here when I was 20 because I worked at the Little the little blossom for three years like co-op in high school and then I went down um and I got my first uh, executive nanny job yeah, Around 20. So, yeah, and then I lived downtown for 10 years before my husband and I came back. So, but we loved it. My dad loved coming downtown. He loved the apartments we would get, he would, we did dinners all the time there were four or five different places that you lived over down there.

Pat: 28:03

Yeah, over the course of the so we got to know all the parts of the city because she was like moving around, yeah.

Speaker 2: 28:07

I started in the Gold Coast and I went to River West, then we went to Lincoln Park where we live in our longest apartment for like six and a half years. In that apartment and my dad loved coming there and we adopted cats together down there. I mean, we did and we ended up getting a dog down there and, um, yeah, he was just always super excited for everything and even though he didn't it's funny, my mom was so scared for me to move downtown and he was too, but he got it because he always kind of liked the city too and you know, warner Nugent does a lot of commercial plumbing in the city, so he was always really well versed of like kind of areas and restaurants and he was just, yeah, he was really cool and I always thought he was so cool that he like knew Boca, like that he got me this job.

Speaker 7: 28:49

I'm like well, only Joe Warner does their commercial plumbing.

Speaker 2: 28:51

So I like to name drop him and then, and you know him being mayor and everything. So yeah, that was always really cool.

Israel: 28:58

So you left the city. When was that?

Speaker 2: 29:01

We moved out here in 2020. And then we got pregnant with our daughter, delilah, and he helped you so much with your house, yeah, so we actually bought a fixer upper. So it was the start of COVID, and we found this like very 1975, outdated in Homer Glen. And you know, this was the start of COVID. So all of a sudden, you're locked down and every week we'd be like on Zoom, virtually shifting this house with my dad and he was just so creative, just the way he designed it. We ended up gutting it.

Speaker 2: 29:37

We completely gutted this house and he helped bring this design to life in like five months. And it was like one of the greatest joys was like once we signed, like we walked in this like blank canvas, and he'd be like, well, let's look at our design. We'd look at these like digital designs we had. And he designed our molding like he wanted it to be like old Chicago. So, oh, this is actually the molding. He then liked it so much. He did it to be like old Chicago. So, oh, this is actually the molding. He then liked it so much he did it in his house. Um, so, yeah, he was super hands-on with designing our house and then renovating it, the projects he helped like the fireplace yeah.

Speaker 2: 30:12

We had so much fun. I have a. Really, you know, I really liked design and so does he. So we would just go back and forth. I'd call him 48 times a day, like, do you like this black fireplace? And I don't know, try it. And then I tried and he'd love it. So the fireplace we brought home from Chicago, yeah, and then one this is why he was so exciting to be around too is because a normal person wouldn't do what some of the things Joe Warner would do. But I called him. I'm like dad, I'm at salvage one in river West and there is this like seven foot mantle it is probably taller, nine feet and I'm like, well, I'm going to think about it. So we come back with dad and he brings a trailer, an open bed trailer, not even like a normal one, like the worst thing you've ever. He pulls up. I'm like you're not serious.

Israel: 30:59

Like it's just an open thing on wheels.

Speaker 3: 31:01

And it's about to rain, and it's about to start raining and I'm like no way.

Speaker 2: 31:04

So we go in and we show it to him and he's like I love it. I mean it's so tall. And the guy's like I've had this here for a year, take it $200. And I're like this is not going to make it home. All of a sudden the dark clouds come in. My dad's like well, let's get out of here. And we're like no, this is scary. So we ended up riding behind them and he goes under an underpass and water just starts like like we think it's going to just. I can just see the joy in my dad's face, though in the car like this is so adventurous.

Pat: 31:47

Yeah, and us behind him like freaking out yeah, cause the water's almost about to just consume.

Speaker 2: 31:52

I mean, it was like flooded, it was a terrible storm and it made it home and it is now like one of the greatest joys of our house. Him and my husband spent like 40 hours on renovating this mantle.

Pat: 32:04

We put, like Carrara, marble at the bottom and a new mirror they had like five layers of paint they had to take off all these layers of paint, but only my dad could figure that out.

Speaker 2: 32:12

Like how. Like he would. Just, he knew everything. Somehow he knew everything. Did it always make sense? No, were you going to pee your pants because it looked like that trailer was going to fall off? Yes, but he always succeeded at everything.

Speaker 7: 32:23

He was just so innovative.

Speaker 2: 32:26

He could think of everything Like if I had a problem, although my husband would appreciate if I asked him first.

Speaker 7: 32:31

I was like wait, Joe said this though, so he just yeah, he knew everything.

Pat: 32:35

I think he got that from his dad. They just were able to figure out whatever, anything Even at his wake.

Speaker 2: 32:42

half of the comments were he was the smartest guy I knew, or not even half. Almost every single person that approached us. I couldn't believe how many people commented on his intelligence, his wit, his creativity and helpfulness.

Pat: 32:54

He helped a lot of people that you know.

Speaker 2: 32:56

He wouldn't come home and tell me that he helped so-and-so but all these people came up and said how wonderful it was that he would help them whenever they needed. There was one story of someone who walked up and she said that her son like got declined from like a college and needed some sort of like essay or referral, and that my dad did it and he now, like just graduated from like his dream college and so like but we'd never heard that Like there were so many people that he just helped and he did these things for and he was the best problem solver.

Speaker 2: 33:24

So I do think it's been really hard for all of us. On the other side of this. It's like who do you call now? Because Joe had that really strong intellect for everything, right?

Israel: 33:36

Yeah Well, talk a little bit about your daughter, your granddaughter.

Speaker 2: 33:41

Delilah Rose.

Israel: 33:42

She's how old?

Speaker 2: 33:43

She's two and a half. She loves Grandpa and Grandma, she loves princesses and Disney and everything pretty much. But yeah, my dad, they had a very strong connection and even as he got sick that last week it took his speech away you know the brain cancer and somehow on that last night he was able to say I love you to her and that was the last thing he said. And so she has a very strong connection to him and we try very hard to keep his presence alive because he's been sending a lot of signs and stuff. But our daughter will say, like you know well, grandpa told me this and like she'll still kind of story tell about him and stuff. But she's really fun and she's a little blonde with big curly hair like me and my husband's six foot five, brown hair, brown eyes and she's a little baby blonde.

Israel: 34:36

So yeah, so tell me what, if you can think of it. Yeah, what are? What are the stories? Do you think, as your daughter gets older, that you'll tell about your dad?

Speaker 2: 34:48

I'll definitely tell her about Disney, which she has a really strong memory, so she recalls a lot of things on her own, but I would say that, and also the way he tried to play with her. It's funny we have a new year's eve. He was, he, always like he didn't even know how good he was as a grandpa. He'd be like, oh, I'm not that great with little kids. We'd be like, yes, you are so last, or two, however many new year's eves ago.

Speaker 2: 35:12

What two, two, yeah, um, we decided to come here and spend the night so that we could be with them for new year's and we had like a balloon drop and he popped the balloons and then our daughter would be like dance. And he'd be like, okay, I'm sitting, though I don't really want to and she'd be like dance, grandpa. And so we have this video where he's sitting and he's like avoiding eye contact because he's like Delilah, just dance. And then, all of a sudden, we have a photo and he's on his knees on the ground and he's like hysterically laughing, and then she's just like running around like dance, grandpa, dance. And so that was a really good memory.

Israel: 35:48

yeah, I'm trying to think what similarities do you see in your granddaughter with how she interacted uh with uh? Is amanda, any similarities there?

Pat: 35:59

um, I think because your personalities are kind of the same, you and Delilah yeah, they're very always want to be doing something, always want to be helping, strong-willed yeah. She's very social, yeah, very social. So yeah, kind of like the same connection and, like you said, she reminds us a lot of my dad.

Speaker 3: 36:21

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 36:21

Like we've mentioned, we see these characteristics, like she can solve all these things, and even my husband will say, like God, she reminds me so much of your dad. Just her ability to problem solve something that we may have not explained to her just reminds me of his ability to do the same. Or just the way that she'll like light up a room and, instead of like shy and nervous, she'll be like hi, what's your name? I'm delilah. I'm two and a half. Like it's that same. It's like a baby bear. I'm like how did I produce a little baby, joe?

Speaker 2: 36:49

confidence and super confident, super like, just magnetic like him.

Israel: 36:55

Yeah, very similar yeah I wanted to talk a little bit more about his time as mayor. I was looking up some articles and I found something from 2005 about the first term, and it said that this is from the Tribune, and they said that Mokena was experiencing an identity crisis because of its growth. Because of its growth, and something that Mayor Joe said, or they said about Mayor Joe, is that he led the way from contention to cooperation and there's kind of a lot of that repeated and you know, people talk about his kind of ability to get things done, to work with people. Yeah, how about did you see that true? Or how tell me more about that?

Pat: 37:43

Yeah, I think that there was like contention going on and he was able to talk with people, get them to look things, look at things a different way, or just get people to come together. Because that was the main thing is, he was really into community and he really wanted there to be more things in the community to do, for the residents to do and stuff like that. So I think that, um, I think it was just his way about him. He was able to get people to come together that maybe might not have before.

Israel: 38:11

Yeah, and just work things out wow, that's a I mean an amazing skill to have and especially in somebody that's in office.

Pat: 38:18

I mean yeah very important.

Israel: 38:21

There was a quote too by John Downs, a village administrator, at the time. It said, werner's success is uniting people with different viewpoints, and his commitment to fiscal responsibility were his great contributions.

Israel: 38:38

So just I thought, a great quote by, obviously, somebody that spent a lot of time professionally with them and knew the way he worked right and I'll say I I think I told you before I never got the chance to meet mayor joe um, you know we hadn't been here a terrible amount of time. My one, I mean the interaction of the time, I know, is we talk about the veterans garage when they dedicated the gun at the pioneer cemetery right uh was, I think shortly after we were here and I um such a great member. I remember walking over there and the parking lot at the metro was full of those vehicles.

Israel: 39:11

You talked about all the restored military vehicles and just the whole experience with the men in uniform and the presentation and the gun and everything was such a neat experience and such a great thing for the town and the community. Anything you'd say about that process, like what you remember about that all coming together.

Pat: 39:35

Well, like I said, I know he was really into the community. He loved like there was a chili cook-off that he used to do at the VFW. He did that a few years because, he loved having all the people come for that. I'm trying to think what else we did. He was really into cleanup day.

Speaker 2: 39:51

That was already started when we moved here.

Pat: 39:52

But he really wanted to keep that going and stuff because he thought that was really important. As far as like because I made a few notes myself about the businesses and stuff I know it was really important to him to bring meaningful businesses to town for the infrastructure. So instead of relying on income from permits and things like that, he wanted the industrial and commercial to bring revenue so they weren't dependent on other things and like the 191st corridor, it's a combination of commercial and warehouse things but it's still bringing in revenue. So that helped a lot. And then, like even in 2000 um, it must have been like 2007 when the it was kind of like the uh recession hit yeah he.

Pat: 40:38

Uh, they were able to keep the village was able to keep things going and there was no like repercussions or anything for the village. They were able to stay strong and when other communities were kind of having problems, they really. They got through it, okay, I think because of this infrastructure that they had were setting up, that they had the revenue and everything wow, yeah, um and uh, yeah, I mean that's.

Israel: 41:02

I talked to again some other people and kind of getting comments about him and that was you know. One of the ones heard is just he was responsible for a great period of growth and important period of growth and change in in town here.

Pat: 41:15

Yeah.

Israel: 41:15

I and you know you talk about his idea of community and that and I that, and that's part of what you know. Our podcast we say is history and community, because I think you know, community is so important and the idea of community and not just, um, you know, living somewhere but being connected to the place and the people you know I think is so important, right, and it seems that that was kind of something that Mayor Joe lived as well.

Pat: 41:43

Right, and I think he thought out of the box a lot too, like he wasn't afraid to like try something different and then if it worked it was pretty good. But he wasn't afraid to try things. So I think that was a good thing too.

Israel: 42:03

Can you think of any professional accomplishments, like as mayor or trustee, that he saw, as you know, really like a?

Pat: 42:06

standout, something he was especially proud of. Um, well, I know he was proud because they were working on, yeah, the playscape when we first moved in. There was another thing that he kind of got involved in right away, before we even the street thing happened. Um, that's where he went met robin yeah so he would go there and donate his time and equipment. You know he had, like the bulldozer and whatever he would go and whatever they needed help doing, he was just there and he'd like tell me what to do. I'll do whatever.

Israel: 42:31

We found some cool pictures of him, you know, on the bulldozer or not bulldozer the Bobcat it was pretty neat, so we're going to include those when we do the Playscape.

Pat: 42:40

Yeah, so I know he was really, really proud of that, and I know that this year, I think it's going to come down or something Yep, yeah. But he was really, really proud of working on that.

Israel: 42:49

Which was one of the most impressive, coolest community. Probably things you can point to in town here, Right right?

Pat: 42:55

yeah, Because it really stood the test of time.

Israel: 42:58

It's been a long time yeah.

Pat: 42:59

Yeah, I know he was proud of like the Meyers store coming into town and the JC Pendette Hole area right there. I know he was proud of that, you know. Finally, you know starting to open and everything. So that was one thing that they were working on.

Israel: 43:15

My wife thanks him for that as well.

Pat: 43:17

Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, I know he had to work with the residents on the route 30 and wolf um because some people were for it and some people were against it but he was able to bring everything together and kind of get it where was able to go, you know, go through.

Israel: 43:34

So yeah, yeah, what? When you look at back at Mokena, when you guys first moved here, compared to now, what do you see as the biggest differences?

Pat: 43:47

I guess just the growth that's happened here, Because I think when we moved here it was already starting to grow, Because before that people talked about it being more of a really small town and everything. But since then I think more companies have come in, but it still has that hometown feel. On 4th of July you can't beat going uptown or the Christmas parade. It still has that homey really old-fashioned feel to it.

Pat: 44:12

So it's nice that it has that. But then you could go on LaGrange and there's all these regular places, restaurants and things like that. But down here in town it's still that old-fashioned feel, which is nice. And then there are some new restaurants opening up, like the Taco Place, zap Taco. I guess another restaurant's going to open up, so that'll be nice.

Israel: 44:31

Yeah, we did a YouTube video about it, check it out, yeah. I know he was involved a little bit with the Historical Society and some of that as well yeah, he was.

Pat: 44:43

He was involved in historical society for a few years. Um, he did that for a while and then he kind of got away from that, but he wasn't really involved in that for a while. Um, it seemed like he kind of got into. He was in the chamber of commerce. He's kind of done a little bit with all the you know a lot of organizations Mokena, , so that was nice.

Israel: 45:02

Maybe Amanda can answer this first. Okay.

Speaker 2: 45:10

But how would you want people to remember your dad, I think, for how big his heart was. I think he truly did so many things for so many people and he very rarely did things for himself. I think he was just so selfless and kind and generous and he really lived to kind of serve people, I mean. But I just feel like between the Veterans Garage and you know, there were people at the Veterans Garage who he would just help. You know, maybe they couldn't afford something, but he the next day the part, would show up. You know, Um, he's just.

Speaker 2: 45:44

And even you know one of my best friends, Adam, who lives on Fenton court, wrote in the memorial book a story I never heard about how, um Adam was in the parade and he lost his favorite limp biscuit hat like a Cardinal hat, Uh, and that, um, my dad ordered him one and he didn't even. You know, like he just was always going to do that. Or even for me, I remember, you know, the year before he got sick, I was having car problems downtown and he's like, all right, I'll be down there in 20 minutes. And I'm like, no, it's okay, I'll figure something out. I was like, don't worry, I got you an Uber. He, just he, was just the most thoughtful, generous, helpful, generous helpful person.

Pat: 46:20

Yeah, and his parents were like that too. I think he got that from. Especially his mom was a very helpful person, so I think a lot of her rubbed off on yeah, what he did, yeah well, so how about you?

Israel: 46:30

what would your answer to uh?

Pat: 46:33

um, I just think he was a very passionate person and when he was in something he was that his mind was just focused on that. He always tried to do the right thing, although you can't always make everyone happy, but he tried to do the best he could, and I just think that he put his whole heart into being mayor and trustee, and I think it showed because the night of his wake.

Pat: 46:58

so many people just said that how much they appreciated him and they were going to miss him so much, and it was just unbelievable to hear all the different stories that we heard that night.

Speaker 2: 47:09

And to even piggyback on what you're saying. We ended up you know we didn't really know a ton about glioblastoma before it happened, which was his type of brain cancer but we ended up throwing a spin event in Burr Ridge and we raised $15,000 for him and or for us to donate to Northwestern Cause. We knew that they had a lot on like the back burner or they were working on a lot of things, and we were really hoping like something was going to get pushed over. You know that they could save him.

Speaker 2: 47:38

And I remember, you know I didn't know how he was going to feel about it and I remember calling him being like I want to throw this spin event, I want to raise money, I want to do something. I can't just like sit here and like not try to fight for you. And I didn't know what he'd say. And I he goes, um, oh, I love that idea, that sounds great. Like thank you so much. And then I remember we were so excited the spin event happened and the next day on WGN they announced a new trial for glioblastoma and this was where we were donating the money. We got into the appointment within two days and unfortunately he didn't qualify. And I remember like looking at him and I said I'm so sorry, and he goes. The spin event was never for me and I'm like what? And he goes. I wanted to do this for other people so they don't die from what I'm going to die from. And that just goes to show who he was.

Speaker 2: 48:26

In this moment I thought he was excited I was doing this for him and all he was thinking was I'm so glad you're going to try to raise money. And on that day that we felt so defeated, he was just like well, I'm glad you're going to donate all this. And another thing he did was when my husband and I got engaged we're just all really close, the four of us and we talked to him about, you know, like we're going to have a wedding, blah, blah, blah. And he goes Okay, well, I want to help pay for it a little bit, but why don't you and Andrew work really hard for, you know, a year or so, and we'll see where you're at at the end of it? And so for a year it ended up being a year and a half my husband and I worked like I worked like six jobs. We're like trying to save for our dream wedding.

Speaker 2: 49:08

And he would always just hint at things like you know, do your best work, work your hardest, and like let's talk about it. And like he'd say, some things are going to have to fall off. So we would like kind of tweak some things. And the week before the wedding we went to hand him a check and he's sitting where you're sitting, slid it back and goes. Now you know what it's like to pay for your own wedding, like he just knew that that was like. Now you know what every single dollar meant and now I'm going to treat you to it and give you this as your nest egg.

Speaker 2: 49:37

And that ended up buying our house. So, instead of him just paying for it or, you know, doing all this, he taught us me. You know, my husband, I we really worked so hard that that day we appreciated every single thing so much because we'd worked so hard for it. And now, instead of it just going away, that day, it became our nest egg and we couldn't have done that without him. So I mean, that's just true testaments to who he was. Sometimes we were a little annoyed by it, like okay, but at the end we understood and it's something we want to do for our daughter too.

Speaker 7: 50:10

Well, now she'll figure it out, I ruined it.

Speaker 2: 50:13

But anyways, it's just you know very selfless person.

Israel: 50:18

So talk a little bit about the cancer. You found out he was sick, Like how did that come about?

Pat: 50:26

So it was in the fall of 22. And just out of the blue he started having some like spasms on the side of his jaw, and so it happened a couple times. So we got into the neurologist's office and we weren't sure what it was from. We thought maybe it was like something from a medicine or something like a reaction. They were like no, it's got to be something more than that. So he went and had a CT done and it came back showing that he had a couple spots on his brain and then from there we had to go, he had to have a biopsy and then that was what showed that he had glioblastoma, which is a very aggressive brain cancer, grade 4, incurable.

Speaker 3: 51:09

Wow.

Speaker 2: 51:09

Prognosis typically 12 to 14 months, and we found out we were supposed to find out on December 23rd two years ago and the doctor ended up not wanting to drive out here. So we ended up luckily getting one more Christmas without knowing, although we had a bad feeling Because he'd had. You know, the biopsy was like brain surgery kind of, in a way.

Speaker 2: 51:31

Well, not full blown, but still we were nervous about that day and they had said we see some necrosis which is like dead brain tissue. So we knew, waiting for the biopsy it might not be great.

Pat: 51:46

And especially if you Google it.

Speaker 2: 51:47

Plus, you knew someone who a family member had it and it didn't come out, it didn't turn out well, and so then we, you know, we ended up finding out, like the week of the first week of January, that it's grade four and they just sit you down and say you know, this is, you have like 12 months, 12 to well. In the beginning we didn't know the timeframe yet.

Pat: 52:03

We were at 14, 18 months.

Speaker 2: 52:05

We were at university of Chicago for the first six months, um, where he did chemo and radiation, and then, um, we switched to Northwestern where we were immensely happy with, uh, that switch. Um, my dad didn't feel as much of a person at University of Chicago with that doctor who's no longer there. We needed someone that was going to want to fight for him and very personable. So we found Dr Stoop, who we love very much and he was my dad's ride or die when my dad couldn't drive anymore. That took away a lot of his happiness and Dr Stoop would be like, well wait, the mayor shouldn't drive himself anyway.

Speaker 7: 52:46

Where's your shadow?

Speaker 2: 52:47

He was really good at making and he was older and he was good at kind of connecting with my dad and really helping him.

Pat: 52:54

Plus Northwestern has a lot more. They have trials, and so we knew that if something came up, that was the place to be more so because they have more advancement with trials and treatments and things like that.

Speaker 2: 53:05

And University of Chicago. You know you do the radiation and the chemo. That's like the protocol. It's called the stoop protocol because the guy at Northwestern that we switched to created that. So he's like known as like one of the most influential living neuro-oncologists in the world, but we didn't know about him at first. Obviously, in the beginning you're just being transferred from where your doctor wants you to go, which was University of Chicago, but he once we completed like the standard regimen, that's when you have to start saying now what? And the University of Chicago wasn't as open to Avastin, so we switched over.

Pat: 53:44

Yeah, so Dr.

Speaker 2: 53:45

Stoop was a super risk, like he was just whatever risk, I'm going to do it same way as my dad was. So it wasn't that the other doctor wasn't like good, it just wasn't the you know, the fight we needed. We really wanted to push it to the end and so once we switched to Northwestern, that doctor, dr Stoop, was like let's do a Vastin, let's do this, let's do that. Like what do you want to do here, I mean. And he ended up doing four rounds of a Vastin when he wouldn't have had any at University of Chicago. So we were really grateful once we got to Northwestern that there was this big push.

Pat: 54:16

So they did do chemo as well before that, yeah, because it was never going to cure it. It was just going to try and keep it at bay so that he could still function and everything. So when it got towards the time frame, they said that's when things started getting pretty bad and everything, and then there's not much more they can do for it, because you've kind of exhausted all there is.

Speaker 2: 54:42

But he was so resilient in the fact that you know we went to disney in may and then in the summertime, I mean he lost his ability to drive um. It affected his speech. He had many seizures. I mean it took a lot.

Pat: 54:53

He was in a wheelchair.

Speaker 2: 54:54

He couldn't walk anymore.

Pat: 54:55

Yeah, he couldn't walk it just it's the brain, so it affects so many different things, and when it's the epicenter of who you are right.

Speaker 2: 55:02

So then we started to see personality changes and all these things and it was like a double-edged sword You're watching the smartest person you know lose the most important part of him.

Speaker 9: 55:16

So that was really difficult.

Speaker 2: 55:17

But he, on a nicer note, he got really sick in September and we um, we were going to have a hibachi dinner for her birthday the next night in the yard and I was going to have all their friends and family, and he ended up being really sick in the hospital and they said well, if you want to go home, then we should start hospice because it seems like you're really sick. Blah, blah, blah. So he comes home and it's just like very overwhelming birthday night where everyone's like happy, but is this the last time they're going to see him. And then the next few days go by and all of a sudden he starts acting better, like he's like got a new pep in his step and I'm like what we were just saying goodbye to you, what's happening? And then we reached back out to his doctor and they're like bring him back in. So we bring them in and they're like listen, joe, we don't think this is the end. We think, if you want to do this like we want you to go to rehab and learn to walk again.

Speaker 2: 56:10

And he, being as brave as he was, said yes. And so he got accepted into Marion Joy and he worked for three weeks to learn how to walk again and he came home and he of course everyone.

Speaker 2: 56:22

When we'd show up to Mary and joy they're like he's my favorite, we love him oh my God Like the doctors would praise him, the nurses, like he was the favorite everywhere we went and he learned how to walk again and he came home, um, and then his brain unfortunately continued to just swell and we didn't know it until he got hospitalized out here. And then we rushed him downtown and it was like beginning of December and we were so shocked because he just learned how to walk. We thought, okay, we're going to buy time. We were right at the 13 month mark and no one could explain it. We were at Northwestern and his speech started to shift and they were like that they were doing scans and the tumors looked the same.

Speaker 2: 57:04

But with glioblastoma it can spread microscopically. That's why you can't get rid of it, because your brain you can't just radiate your brain over and over again. So once it started to cause the swelling, they were like let's do steroids. They threw everything they could at it and it was really hard, cause it's like December, we're looking out at people out in the snow and he's like I can't wait to get home for Christmas and um, but they couldn't get the swelling to stop, um, and so ultimately it like took it just took away his I mean speech and everything. And even the last week they were like we're not going to give up. Dr Soup was like I don't want to give up yet, like it's not time, and it literally until 72 hours before he died they weren't willing to stop. I mean, they believed in him so much and they kept thinking this happened the one time it's going to shift and unfortunately it didn't. No-transcript. And then he passed away.

Pat: 58:09

He was away for one day, yeah.

Speaker 2: 58:11

Within a day, I mean. They looked at weeks, I mean everyone. It was a continuous very-.

Pat: 58:17

I think that's how that cancer is. It's just so unpredictable. It nose-dived which was Unpredictable, yeah.

Speaker 2: 58:22

It just took a very sharp noise, and then it was Christmas Eve, but all our friends and family were there. Yeah, but very difficult. I mean there are no words for what we witnessed and what he went through. Truly yeah.

Israel: 58:38

Took everything from him and a tough time of year to connect that to.

Pat: 58:40

Well, it didn't really even feel like Christmas A couple weeks before. It was just so hectic going back and forth to the hospital and everything. It didn't even really feel like Christmas.

Speaker 2: 58:48

Well, and we were so grateful because we still couldn't believe what was happening. Once we got to hospice and we looked at the clock and it said midnight, Christmas Eve, and I'm like only Joe Werner would. So we made a joke of it that like of course he's going to have this like holiday, that like the most it was his, one of his favorites. But then what's crazy is on Christmas Eve, you know, we didn't know how long he was going to make it and he was really struggling. And we look outside and I'm like thank God it's not this like beautiful snow, it's like 50. It's rainy. It didn't seem like Christmas.

Speaker 2: 59:21

You know my daughter's at home wondering when grandpa's coming home. I mean, we were so overwhelmed. And then, on the day of his funeral, my husband looked at the precipitation. It's like, oh, there's no, it's not going to rain. It snowed the most beautiful snow I've ever seen, the day of his funeral, like out of a Lifetime movie, like small little Just enough to make a beautiful backdrop Like the processional was so long, they like shut down Mokena for it to make it so special.

Speaker 2: 59:47

And I'm like here's the snow, kind of like he was giving it to us with him on that day, instead of the worst day that we were going through, which was the day he died on Christmas Eve. So he's still very powerful. It's very clear he's still a very powerful mayor up there.

Israel: 1:00:04

Yeah Well, I, you know I appreciate you guys have such great stories and it seems like so many great memories. Um, I really appreciate you both talking to me and sharing you know some of those and with you know the community I think you know share the story for, hopefully, years and years to come, the people that serve our community.

Speaker 9: 1:00:28

It's a thankless job, I'm sure you know more than a little about that.

Israel: 1:00:35

So we're thankful to him and for both of you. It's a sacrifice to the family as well. But again, thank you guys, both for sharing some of the story.

Pat: 1:00:49

Thanks for wanting to hear our stories.

Israel: 1:00:51

Yeah, and so Veterans Garage is still going on.

Pat: 1:00:56

Well, it's in the process of changing. So I'd say within the next month or two it'll be moving There'll be a grand opening in the summer.

Speaker 2: 1:01:04

We'll announce that once we know kind of what's going to happen.

Israel: 1:01:07

Well, if you let me know about that, I'll be sure to share it with the podcast as well.

Pat: 1:01:11

Yeah, okay.

Israel: 1:01:14

This is Robin Madden, a longtime friend and coworker of Mayor Joe Warner. So, Robin, thank you for meeting with me today and talking to me. Maybe tell us a little bit about how you know Joe, how you knew him.

Speaker 8: 1:01:28

Okay.

Speaker 8: 1:01:28

Well, when we were building the playground, we had a lot of people. We needed a lot of people to get involved. We had a lot of committees, so my husband was heading the committee for donated materials and I came home from a different meeting one night and he said hey, we have a name for your park. And I went what do you mean? You have a name for my park? And he said we're going to call it Joe Werner Park. I said who's Joe Werner? Why are we naming this park after him? And so he pulled out his list of donated materials we were looking for and he went down the list Well, joe's donating this and this and this and this, probably 20 items at least that Joe Werner was donating. I go okay, I get it.

Speaker 8: 1:02:12

So then it was probably a month later we were at Mokena cleanup and he goes hey, he points to someone. He goes hey, there's your guy. And I go what guy? And he goes that's Joe Werner. So I ran right over and introduced myself to him and he grabbed me in a great big hug and that's how I met him.

Israel: 1:02:27

Wow, and you talk about the park. You're talking about the park at MES, the play, the wooden playscape.

Speaker 8: 1:02:33

I am Imagination Station.

Israel: 1:02:38

Yes, okay, and which we're going to talk about for another episode, but interesting how it all ties together with him having such a large part. So you met him through that and and then you've known each other all these years. You want to talk about that a little bit.

Speaker 8: 1:02:54

We have known each other all those years. I started out I did a lot of volunteer and elected positions in the village. I started with well PTA at the schools, but then I was doing the recording secretary for the village. So I was at all the trustee meetings and then that went to when Jane McGinn, who was the current village clerk, was elected to be a trustee. Then they had to nominate someone for village clerk and so I got that position. So I worked with Joe as recording secretary. Then I worked with Joe as village clerk for quite a while and then at one point he said do you know anybody who's looking for a job? I need a new person to run my office. And I go oh, the person I know who's best qualified is me. So he and I sat down and discussed it and then I started working for him and I worked at Werner Nugent Plumbing for 17 years maybe.

Israel: 1:03:55

Wow, wow. So more than just a casual relationship.

Speaker 8: 1:04:00

Oh, absolutely, you knew him pretty well. Yes, how about in the community? What kind of? He was involved in Mokena Cleanup, anything in the village. You could always find Joe there volunteering his time to participate. He, just he was everywhere.

Israel: 1:04:28

And, interestingly enough, dr Cohen provided some pictures for the playscape and so we had one here that we were able to find of Joe and I didn't know. But that's really interesting, that that's where you actually got to know him as well.

Speaker 8: 1:04:37

Yes, and this picture that you're showing me is Joe and his Bobcat his company's Bobcat that he brought on site for us to use and taught me how to drive it, which was fun. He stood there just like that and I was behind it trying to drive it.

Israel: 1:04:53

Oh, wow.

Speaker 8: 1:04:54

Yeah. And when we were building the playground, there was a pipe that ran between MES and MIS and nobody knew it was there and we hit it and broke it. Oh, no, yeah. So the head custodian came over to me and said we have a problem. It's probably going to set you back a few days. We're going to have to get a new pipe and replace it and everything. At which point Joe came running over to me and goes we got it squared away, Don't worry about it. Someone else who was working had a piece of pipe in his backyard, so they went and got the piece, Joe cut it, fit it in and about 20 minutes later we were moving on.

Israel: 1:05:35

Wow, what a great story. Yeah, very interesting. How long has it been since you've seen Joe?

Speaker 8: 1:05:44

It's been a while Because right after COVID, I left Werner Nugent, so probably 2020, 2021, somewhere in there. I left Werner Nugent, I left Mokena. We moved down to the Peoria area to be closer to my son and our grandkids.

Israel: 1:06:04

Okay, well, anything else you want to add or any words you want to leave about Joe.

Speaker 8: 1:06:11

Joe's a great guy. He loved everybody. He loved Mokena. He would do anything fo r Mokena.

Israel: 1:06:19

Mokina Mayor Frank Fleischer, how are you doing? Israel? Hi, I'm good. Thanks for talking to me this morning, not a problem, I just wanted to get your thoughts, any comments you'd want to share about former Mayor Joe Werner?

Speaker 10: 1:06:34

Joe and I were on each end of the political spectrum, okay, plus, I was not on the board when he was mayor. I've known Joe for a while, in fact we ran together. For the first time he got on the board I can't remember how long ago. You know, we kind of drifted. We kind of drifted apart when he got on the board. Joe did a lot of good things. You know. We had that breakfast for the veterans, you know over at.

Speaker 10: 1:07:01

I don't know if you know about that, but he had a breakfast for the veterans on the 4th of July, which was really very nice. Chester, he did that, you know. I don't remember, I don't know how many years he did it. And the other thing is that one of the important things is that Joe did okay was he came up with the. Well, he was mayor. They came up with the idea to start trying to get sales tax from our industrial parks.

Speaker 10: 1:07:33

Okay, because you know the industrial parks you have a lot of stuff industrial level one, two and three type of industrial and you don't get any sales tax from that. So him and the administrator at the time, you know they sat down and talked along with the board about trying to create an incentive for their industrial park Because you know, the Joe was in the plumbing business and he also knew how expensive the equipment that they bought was and the sales tax that's generated on it. So we started as he started, they put that incentive plan out and we started getting some businesses in our industrial parks that generated a sales tax. To me that was a big deal for the village. That's one thing it did as mayor. That, as far as I'm concerned, that was very important to this village. But that's what we try to do now. We try to get businesses that are going to generate sales tax into our industrial parks, because that's all you usually get out of industrial parks is real estate tax.

Israel: 1:08:39

Yeah, no, that's hugely important.

Speaker 10: 1:08:41

We generate sales tax Because, if you look at, you know out there where Accelerate is yeah, okay. You know out there where Accelerate is yeah, okay, accelerate generates an unbelievable amount of sales and entertainment tax to the village. Okay, they're out there and you've got CIT, the trucking outfit out there, sales and service. They generate a lot. Abc Supply brings in a ton of income tax for us. Yeah, he was the mayor when they initiated that. So as far as I'm concerned, that was important, very important for the village, because it just started generating a lot of sales tax, a lot of revenue.

Speaker 10: 1:09:25

Yeah, and one of those things a lot of people don't realize you know it's not a flashy building or you know something like that, but it's vital to keeping a community strong financially Well that's a good point, because that's what a lot of people you know we get jumped on every year here in Moltena, because we don't have the restaurants and we don't have all this stuff and we're not bringing in sales tax like the other communities are. Well, that's a bunch of baloney, because I'll tell you what ABC Supply. I'll take one of those to 10 McDonald's.

Israel: 1:10:01

And you both ran against each other, and then that's when he stepped out.

Speaker 10: 1:10:09

In 2013 is when he decided not to run. You know, I don't know what that reason was for. Nobody ever knew.

Israel: 1:10:17

Maybe talk a little bit about the transition and what he left the village. You know, was it a good transition. You feel like we're in a good place, as you stepping into mayor.

Speaker 10: 1:10:28

I mean, one thing about the village over here is Israel, and this is what people have got to understand this village has always been very frugal, not cheap, since I've been involved with them, since I was Sowing and Planning Commissioner in 1985, got elected in 1987. In 1985, got elected in 1987. And at that time Mike Everett was the mayor and Ron Gretowski came afterwards. And since Mike was mayor, I mean we've always washed our pennies and we've well, just to give you an idea, the police department and the updating on our sewer treatment facility cost $28 million and we had $24 million of that to pay for.

Speaker 10: 1:11:22

We didn't have to raise anybody's taxes to do that. But that's from the mayors before me and I just picked up. You know, I picked up the baton when I became mayor and operate the same way. We just don't spend money frivolously in Latina and Joe didn't for eight years Again, I just remember this when that police station is at, while Joe was mayor, he had the foresight and they had the foresight to buy that piece of property for, you know, for the future location of the jail.

Israel: 1:11:55

Oh, really, that was done during his time as mayor.

Speaker 10: 1:11:59

That was during his time.

Israel: 1:12:00

Wow, Well great. There was a nice connection back then for him to the new police station as well.

Speaker 10: 1:12:07

Yes, because I'll tell you what, if he didn't do that, if the board didn't do that at the time, naturally you had to get concurrence from the board. But if that you know, if they didn't do that back then it would have took us kind of, how long to buy a location for that police station Because we already had the land. Yeah, once you have the land, after that you come up with the, the money. But even more than the money, the land is the most important thing when you're building, trying to build a building for the village sure locate, yeah, absolutely and that's a great location.

Speaker 10: 1:12:40

It's got the visibility people can see our station right there we're going to. Most of our activity is probably going to be along the corridor up and down 191st street yeah that was a. That was a very important thing.

Israel: 1:12:52

Yeah, definitely a positive step and the biggest, probably, improvement, uh, governmentally wise. You know, buildings in that that we've had in in how long, you know, am I correct? I don't think we have a bigger maybe one of the water treatment facilities. You know that police station will be a huge addition to the village. It will be, and you know I'm pretty proud of that too treatment facilities.

Speaker 10: 1:13:11

You know that police station will be a huge addition to the village. It will be, and you know I'm pretty proud of that too, because one of the things that I came back I've always been a stickler on aesthetics, always when I was a trustee and now that I'm mayor and one of the things that I really wanted to do was change the architecture in our buildings, and if you look at all the buildings now over the past you know three terms, about 12 years there is a difference in the way the town is being put together with the buildings and aesthetically it's being cleaned up, and that's something that I'm very proud of when I look at this village now.

Israel: 1:13:49

Craig McCutcheon.

Speaker 7: 1:13:51

So Lion Israel. I got to tell you about Lion Joe from what I I was very close with Mayor Joe Warner and he, in my mind, was he actually saved Mokina. There was a very, very tough time in Mokina about probably 15 years ago. Monday night, at the fights and all the turmoil and everything, and he personally got back into the arena and he ran for mayor and he united this whole town into what we had before and what we've had since he's been there, which is a lot of peace and a lot of good running of government and everything. And it wasn't banging of heads, it wasn't fighting all the time, it wasn't factions and everything. And I put that on Mayor Joe. He was an absolute phenomenal, phenomenal person to take on During that time. It took a strong man, a strong leader, and he did it and I'll never, ever, ever forget and I'll never, I'll always be grateful for what he did for Mokina.

Israel: 1:15:03

Retired Mokina Fire Chief Howard Stevens.

Speaker 9: 1:15:07

Hey Israel. I just want to talk real briefly about the mayors of Molkina, and Mayor Joe in specific and, as we know, all the way back from when I remember, mayor Tuttle, teske, everett, shazar, quinn, mayor Joe, mayor Grotowski and then now Mayor Fleischer. I believe, from my perspective, that all the residents of Mokena past, present and future they have all benefited from all these mayors forecasting the future and doing what's best for the village of Mokena in general and doing what's best for the village of Mokena in general. And as well, I want to put a shout out to village administrator, or retired village administrator, john Downs. He was also an integral part in the entire growth of the village of Mokena as well. So just shout out to all the previous mayors and present mayor, frank Fleischer and previous village administrator, john Downs, for doing a fantastic job, forecasting the future for the village of Mokena and making life better for all of us.

Israel: 1:16:22

And what was his time? I'm sorry. What was his time frame? When was he village administrator?

Speaker 9: 1:16:28

Oh, that's a good question. It was quite a long time and I don't know the exact time frame he was there as the village administrator for— During Mayor Joe, though. 30 years maybe, and I'm probably wrong but he was there quite a while.

Israel: 1:16:55

For a village administrator to be in a town for that long, it's really kind of unheard of and before you talk about Mayor Warner a little bit too, can maybe just give a little brief background.

Speaker 9: 1:17:13

Chief Howard you retired a couple of years ago. But you were with the Mokena Fire Department for how long? Oh yeah, so I actually grew up in Mokena. I've lived in Mokena for over 50 years. I joined the Mokena Fire Department back in 91, and I retired two years ago about a year and a half ago, two years ago. And the present fire chief, joe Sorelli, he actually came on the same time I did, and so we kind of rose up through the ranks together and we have seen from our perspective at the firehouse all the positive changes that have come about from the mayors and village administrator. That really helps all the residents in the village.

Speaker 9: 1:18:14

In the village, us being a separate entity from the village, they didn't really have a lot of input on our policies and procedures and things like that. But there were a lot of direct meetings that we had for important events. You know, like all the Fourth of July parades as we know, we have the largest Fourth of July parade around and the Toppin Funeral, big events like that, and those are just to name a couple. You know, as well as other natural disasters, tornadoes or microbursts and flooding and things like that. But you know, kudos, from my perspective as a firefighter and fire chief kudos to the Village of Mokena, all the previous mayors and especially Village Administrator John Downs, for doing what they did for the betterment of the community. Hugely important, I do. Yep, what's that?

Israel: 1:19:16

So it's hugely important to to a community for positive growth.

Speaker 9: 1:19:21

Yeah, 100%, 100% from my perspective. Mayor Joe, he he did an excellent job from, from my opinion, he did an excellent job of pulling people together and kind of talking things through. At the end of the day, you may not have agreed with the final outcome or you may have thought that the final outcome should be different, but you also knew that you had a seat at the table and you were able to talk about whatever the issue was and kudos to him for allowing that to happen between the different taxing bodies within the village, mokena, to have a seat at the table, talk about different issues. Like I said, maybe not everything would go your way the way you want it, but at least you had a seat at the table. You know, and I also really did appreciate Mayor Joe with the Veterans Garage Actually, a friend of mine, which happens to be related to Chief Joe, he had this big and I don't even know what it's called a big Army truck, whatever, and he was part of the veterans' garage as well and before you knew it, there was a whole, as you probably know, a whole little army of these veterans uh garage guys.

Speaker 9: 1:20:50

He did a fantastic job from my perspective of giving, uh getting those guys that have those trucks, giving them a platform to to showcase their, their apparatus and, uh, to get to get out into the public and to show people what they do and what they stand for. I think he did a great job with that.

Israel: 1:21:10

Yeah, you know, I remember when they did the dedication of the gun at the cemetery at Pioneer. Cemetery and we walked over there and the parking lot the metro parking lot closest to Wolf was just full of all those cool old Army trucks and Humvees and it was really neat to see.

Speaker 9: 1:21:30

Yeah, you're right. Yeah, I actually forgot about that. But now that you've yeah, you're right, yeah, I actually forgot about that. But now that you've mentioned that, you're right on target, that was a big event in my opinion. That was a really cool event and obviously, as we know, it's still there today and it'll be there for a long time to come, I would imagine. But, like I said, the biggest thing from my perspective is, you know, the willingness for Mayor Joe to just open up the discussion on any topic with the different taxing bodies, break down those barriers and kind of talk through the issues and go from there. And you know, it was good, it was good to have that discussion and it was good to have the opportunity to have that discussion. And, at the end of the day, the taxpayers of Mokena, they're the ones that benefit from that type of discussions.

Israel: 1:22:32

Commander Jim Hogan of the William F Martin VFW in Mokina.

Speaker 5: 1:22:40

Joe is a patriot. He is a fine, outstanding, upstanding American citizen. The M5 anti-tank gun at the cemetery was in terrible disrepair. It was really bad and Joel brought up the idea. We knocked it around and we moved forward. We had a couple of fundraisers and he got an excavating crew because the wheels were sunk in the ground. It was terrible. It was, I don't know, a complete disrepair and now you see that proud anti-tank gun sitting on a concrete pad, looking awesome.

Israel: 1:23:24

And what did that mean, do you think, to the VFW, the members of the VFW.

Speaker 5: 1:23:31

It was a big deal. It's huge. We have such pride in that and I think on yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. Yeah, I think that's how I. It was wonderful, but it didn't just happen overnight. This took a long time, but it didn't just happen overnight. This took a long time and no one paid any heed to this except the other patriotic citizens in Mokina, and there's a ton of them. I mention that every time I speak in the village, I speak in the village and that is. I have never lived anywhere in the United States of America that I'm talking about the Mokina that takes care of their veterans and are so patriotic and I don't mean placate their veterans, I mean they are truly behind them US citizens.

Israel: 1:24:30

Yeah.

Speaker 5: 1:24:31

It's very humbling.

Israel: 1:24:32

That'sS citizens. Yeah, it's very humbling.

Speaker 5: 1:24:33

That's great to hear, yeah, so, anyhow. So during this, joe and I not that we were friends, he and his group had come to the post, we'd break bread and you know, and. But over this time, getting to know him, and it was just awesome and that that kept going on and on and no matter what happened, joe always had our back when we needed help with the fourth of july or memorial day. He and the Veterans Garage you know, because it's just starting out, it wasn't this powerful organization, it was when Joe went to heaven. You know what I mean. There's a lot of people involved now and he was always there. And you know, the thing that I mentioned when I was in front of the village board was that all of us, including you, we hope to leave a positive impact on this planet and that's really the best we can hope for. And what Joe Werner did is he left a legacy.

Israel: 1:25:55

Former Mokena Village trustee, Joe Sawinski. Can you just tell me a little bit about your time, how you knew the mayor and any personal thoughts or anything you'd want to share about him? Joe?

Amanda: 1:26:07

Warner was a very special man who was a true public servant. I remember the first time I met Joe was at a village board meeting and what really impressed me about Joe on that particular evening was it was a time when the village was going through a lot of controversy and had flooding issues and many things. So we had many nights that were late nights where people were up and they were, um, you know, they were really giving the board a time to get these things, these problems, fixed. And joe came up with the problem over on first court. Um, that was named first court so they thought it should have remained a court and not be extended into Barrington Square. And just his presentation and the way he approached it made him you could tell something was very special. He was looking to try and find a solution to the problem and do it in a really respectful manner and that always stood out to me, that you know, he treated everyone very respectfully, a true gentleman who honestly did what his slogan always was we're going to do what's right for Mokena. And he kept to that. And he was very, very intelligent and was very, very good at what he did. Very good at what he did His commitment to the village, I mean from the very beginning, you know, with Imagination Station and then the Millennium Celebration and you have to think back, but Joe was instrumental in getting the historical society going again back when he was a trustee and he was a chamber president and I think a lot of these things are you don't remember unless you really think back. But he was involved in so many things and did so much that he was very impactful Once he came out of office.

Amanda: 1:28:29

I think Joe's biggest thing and what I always remember, what was most important to Joe, was his family. It really was. I mean, he ran a business but bottom line Pat and Amanda, wherever you know, it was a really controversial time when Joe was mayor and he didn't like a challenge was like a good thing for Joe and he didn't look at anyone. Someone could be screaming at him and he would turn that around and try and get them involved. Because you know, one thing I always remember about Joe is if he would have different ideas. But if someone else came up with an idea, um, that he was better, he would swing to that and that takes someone special to do that. He was very, very good at what he did and good at systems and setting things up and laying foundations for things. He was a tremendous man, a tremendous person, and I'll miss him dearly.

Israel: 1:29:31

Jim Schlegel, tremendous man, a tremendous person, and I'll miss him dearly.

Speaker 3: 1:29:33

Everyone's going to say they're a friend to Joe because he was a friend to everyone. But there's three things I'd like to point out about my friend Joe, and that one he was a leader. He wasn't a manager, but he's a leader. He always took other people, always wanted to get insight from the other people around him before he made a decision. He included other people in his decision-making process. The other thing about Joe he always did everything first class. He always wanted to make sure that any project undertaken by the village was going to be a first-class project, such as bringing Chicago water into Mokina, which has really highly improved the quality of life for everyone here in Mokina. And he also was very interested in providing opportunities for other people. He was very good at training and sharing his insight with other people. So I'd like to say he was a leader, he was first class.

Speaker 3: 1:30:39

He was always willing to be a teacher and he, for example, with the Pioneer Cemetery that has been so much to improve our downtown area and rebuilding that artillery piece. It's a work of art, I mean. He has brought it back. It wasn't just a coat job on it, he repaired everything on it. So basically it's almost functioning, but it looks beautiful. And then by putting the fence around it, by putting the history on it and how it went into it, it really added a great deal of dimension and also the just how we got the village to really pick up our cemetery, because there's a lot of we're lucky in Okinawa to have that cemetery and have our veterans. Very few people have veterans from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 buried in their town, something that we should be proud of.

Speaker 3: 1:31:43

So, from a selfish point of view, I'm planning on doing I'm going to be on an honor flight, uh, come nice come this year and I was hoping that joe would pick me up at the airport in his jeep and drive me back to the moquina. Uh, but he'll be with me, uh, when I go, and I'll be thinking to joe when I go to, uh, um, when I go to the memorial in washington dc and jim.

Israel: 1:32:09

How did did you and Mayor Joe get to know each other?

Speaker 3: 1:32:13

That's an interesting question and I would like to say that's how Joe got involved in politics. When they put First Court in, it was to be a cul-de-sac street and then when they started to put the second addition to Barrington Square in, the village wanted to put a street through from First Court to Barrington Square and the village wanted to put a street through from First Court to Barrington Square, which was going to be a terrible idea. But Joe led the charge on that and got us together with myself and Terry Germany and a bunch of other people, and we petitioned the village board not to put the street through but to put a walkaway path through, so that this path has really become a very nice focal point of our community. You would tend to think that Joe was a Notre Dame graduate. I mean, he was only a Catholic high school graduate, but he spoke slowly and he was very methodical. Yeah, I wish I could speak as well as Joe did, but I think he was an excellent mentor to a lot of us.

Israel: 1:33:24

Mokena Village. Trustee George Matanias.

Speaker 11: 1:33:28

I've known Joe. Actually, him and I both were running at the same time in 2005. He ran for he was running for mayor and I was running for trustee. We were kind of opposite teams at the time and when the elections were done, I was, I got, I was able to get in and obviously he got elected, and I remember this really well. One of the things that I will never forget is that Mayor Joe called me the night of the election after the results came in to congratulate me and tell me that he's looking so forward to working with me.

Speaker 11: 1:34:07

And even though we were on opposite sides at the time. That meant a lot to me and you know we may start an opposite side but after we both got in an office and you know I got to get to know him. He was a great mayor. He worked, he communicated with all the trustees. He lets you give your opinion and, you know, work with you on things.

Speaker 11: 1:34:36

He's a great communicator and by doing that we got closer, we became friends. Then we ran together next time. As a person, joe Warner loved Mokino as mayor. He did so many things for the village Some of the things like the chili cook-off and he did the community picture that he tried to get everybody that can make it out down on Front Street there and take a picture with all the people in Mokina. I mean he raised money and went down there to help communities. He was a mentor to me.

Speaker 11: 1:35:20

He helped me out a lot. He was a great friend and I miss my friend and I'm going to miss him a lot and the village of Mokina is going to miss having somebody like that here.

Israel: 1:35:35

Is there anything, maybe specifically that you would point to? That was his biggest significant lasting impact on the village.

Speaker 11: 1:35:45

Well, he was a big part of bringing meaningful businesses to Mokina like Myers JCPenney, meaningful businesses to Mokina. Like Myers JCPenney, he was a big advocate and he worked his butt off to make sure that our villages physically sound and we do well. So one thing in particular no, there were so many, there were so many many Israel that I can't really sit there and pinpoint different things. I can name all the things that he did, because everything he did he did it for the good of this village and he cared about his residents and, uh, you know, I I was very um honored to be his friend all I want to say Israel, that I miss Joe Warner.

Speaker 11: 1:36:29

He was my mentor, he was my friend, um, and uh, I miss him. You doing this is, uh is amazing. I'm very grateful that you were doing this for him. Uh, a memorial he deserves. There's so much for what he's done for this village and this community and, uh, I think you doing this will help a lot to keep his memory alive.

Israel: 1:36:55

Well, that's the hope, and you know, share his story.

Israel: 1:36:58

He gave a lot of years to the village and I'm glad to be able to share his story and learn more about him myself. I hope that you learned something as well about Mayor Joe Werner. Please remember to call and leave us your messages with stories, memories that we can share here on our podcast. That number is 872-255-9259. And that'll be on our website, on our Facebook page and anywhere you can find us. Make sure to view the YouTube video of this episode, which you'll find some additional pictures and videos, some really great stuff on there.

Israel: 1:37:36

So I want to thank you for listening and we'll see you next time on Mokina's Front Porch.