Lake Forest woman fulfilling late husband's wishes with $1.02 million donation to Lake County Forest Preserves
It is to be expected that John and Paula Lillard had many things in common throughout a 70-year marriage. That long list included a lifelong love affair with the outdoors.
'We always felt that nature was really important for people to thrive and for the joy of life,' Paula remembered.
Now acting on one of John's stated wishes before his January 2024 death, Paula Lillard is donating $1.02 million to the Preservation Foundation, the Lake County Forest Preserves charitable organization.
'It is to honor John and his commitment and his vision,' she said.
According to a statement, the donated funds will launch an endowment that will be managed by the Foundation. The endowment's funds will treat open lands at the Lake Forest Middlefork Savannah, Lake Bluff's Oriole Grove Forest Preserve and other adjacent areas overseen by the Lake Forest Open Lands Association (LFOLA). Specifically, the funds will be targeted to eradicate invasive species, prescribed burning and re-planting of trees and native plants.
Building off the Lillard donation, the Foundation's Every Acre Strong campaign will look to raise $20 million for the endowment.
'Our 100-year vision for Lake County looks beyond the borders of the forest preserves. It calls on all landowners to work together to keep our natural areas healthy and resilient,' Forest Preserves President Jessica Vealitzek said in a statement. 'Paula's gift brings that vision to life.'
Both born in Ohio, the Lillards each spent large portions of their childhood in the outdoors near woods and animals, Paula recalled.
'Understanding the importance of being out in nature was something we grew up with,' she said.
That passion continued when they moved to Lake Forest in the early 1970s. She recalled John was often out on the nearby Middlefork Savanna, determined to improve the aesthetics of the land.
'My husband would go out with a chainsaw and try to cut things down, and so it looks quite different today,' she said. 'It looks quite beautiful.'
John, the co-founder of the Wintrust Financial Corporation, channeled that love of nature in many areas, eventually becoming the President and Life Director of the LFOLA.
As she recalls her life with John, Paula Lillard believes the creation of the endowment will achieve the couple's environmental goals.
'The preservation of this land and these trails is for future generations,' she said. 'We want this land to be here forever. It is not going to be here forever if you don't manage it and if you don't make sure that it is not being encroached upon by asphalt and all kinds of things that interfere with nature.'
Paula, who has children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, cites other positive attributes of being outside. She states her concerns of too much screen time for modern youth.
'That is not going to be able to sustain them throughout life,' she said. 'What does sustain us is when we are part of nature.'
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