Lamont Lee Perington

Lamont Lee Perington, age 77, of Maple Park, Illinois, passed away Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at Season’s Hospice in Naperville after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was born February 9, 1942 in Waukegan, Illinois, the son of Philip and Marguerite Perington.  Lee is survived by his devoted wife Barbara (Rossman); daughter Joy (Michael) Miletic of North Aurora, Illinois; grandchildren Amanda and Noah Miletic; sister Lorraine McDowell of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois; sister-in-law Mildred Perington of Johnstown, Iowa; and many dear nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Neil, and his son Jeffrey. 

Lee and Barb absolutely loved their sweet kitty, Miss Chris, who showed up at their home years ago on a frigid Christmas Eve.  She enjoyed lounging inside Lee’s briefcase while he worked on cases at home.  Also, Lee will be greatly missed by their awesome Aussie, Bella, who spent many hours by his side.

Lee was a very humble man, always thinking of others, which actually made him a great humanitarian.  He could start a conversation with anyone around him, ask them questions, and get them to open up about themselves. Lee was genuinely interested in his fellow man and loved to be around people.  He had a way about him that would make people feel good.  One of Lee’s most memorable qualities was his wonderful sense of humor.  He always had some type of joke or funny story to tell about life and he had such a quick wit.  Lee loved to sing (solo and in a neighborhood barbershop quartet) and play the guitar.  On a regular basis, for many years until his illness, he looked forward to joining his group of music buddies who performed 20’s and 30’s music and sing-a-longs. He also played the bass guitar, harmonica, banjo, and ukulele, fooled around with hand puppets, and performed magic tricks. Lee enjoyed entertaining people, was fun to be around, and truly enjoyed life.

When not practicing law or being involved in community organizations, Barb arranged many getaways and introduced Lee to hiking, exploring, and traveling outside of Kane County. They hiked in and out of the Grand Canyon; hiked up to Mount Le Conte Lodge, the highest place in the Great Smokey Mountains; hiked hut to hut in Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass in the High Sierras; as well as hiking in Glacier National Park. They also enjoyed a rafting/camping trip down the Green River in Utah. Outside the US were trips with many friends and family (and almost all with some hilarious incidents) including a Caribbean cruise, and trips to Mexico, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Eastern Canada, and the Canadian Rockies. As Grandma and Grandpa, they took Amanda and Noah on a fun trip to Walt Disney World and on an exciting train trip to Arizona to explore that part of the country. 

Lee obtained his private pilot’s license, was instrument rated, and spent many Saturdays at the local airports, flying and conversing with his fellow aviator friends. Lee also enjoyed snow skiing with his family and friends.  He was a volunteer ski patroller for many years at Indian Head in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Part of being a ski patroller was learning first aid and CPR.  Lee became an Advanced First Aid Instructor and CPR Instructor for the American Red Cross and a Winter Emergency Care instructor for the National Ski Patrol.

Lee graduated from Zion Benton High School and went on to attend Eastern Illinois University where he graduated with a BS degree in Marketing.  He then attended law school at Chicago Kent College of Law and received his Juris Doctorate degree.  He has been practicing law since 1972 in Geneva, Illinois.

Lee loved practicing law and helping people so much that he never actually retired.  He very much appreciated Mary, his paralegal, who is a committed and loyal employee and has been working with him for 23 years.  He was active in the Kane County Bar Association and was a past president.  Lee served as a chairman of the Estate Planning and Probate, Finance, Real Estate, and Judicial Evaluation committees.  He was awarded the distinguished “Community Service Award”, which is given only to one attorney per year in recognition of their dedicated and outstanding service to the community and legal profession. He was also awarded the “Service Award” which is given in recognition of dedicated and outstanding service to the Bar Association.  Lee served as a volunteer attorney for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for children in the Juvenile Court System.  He served as a court annexed Arbitrator and Mediator for the Kane County Circuit Court 16th Judicial Circuit for over 20 years.  Lee was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to the Illinois Board of Admissions, Character and Fitness Committee for the 2nd appellate district and served as the Committee Chairman for three years.  This committee reviews and approves law school graduates who wish to be licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois.

Lee was a longtime, avid member of the Geneva Lion’s club and participated in many community events. He is a past president and served as an active enthusiastic member and chairman on many committees.  Lee was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award which is the highest honor that a member of the club can receive.  He also received the distinguished “Service Award” and the Lions of Illinois Foundation Fellowship.

He was a member of and served as a Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the United Methodist Church of Geneva for many years.  He also served for several years on the Men’s Foundation of Delnor Community Hospital and was President for two of those years.  Lee was the attorney and general counsel for the Geneva Park District for almost 40 years.  

A visitation for Lee will be held on Saturday, March 30th from 1:00 PM until the time of his memorial service at 3:00 PM at United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton Street, Geneva.

Burial will be held privately at Oak Hill Cemetery in Geneva.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Lee’s name to one of the following organizations would be appreciated: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, California 90266, Geneva Lions Club, PO Box 382, Geneva, Illinois 60134, or United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton Street, Geneva, Illinois 60134.

Arrangements handled by Malone Funeral Home in Geneva.  Information 630-232-8233 or www.malonefh.com.

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