Stuart Mies Mamer  1921-2015

Stuart Mies Mamer, 94, who was an 83-year resident of Urbana, died on Monday (Oct. 26, 2015). Stuart was born on Feb. 23, 1921, in East Hardin, Ill., to Louis H. and Anna Mies Mamer. On Sept. 10, 1944, he married Donna E. Jordan who died on June 26, 2004 - a few months short of their 60th anniversary. Survivors include two sons, Richard (Brenda) of Merrill, Wis., and Bruce of Grants Pass, Ore.; and a daughter-in-law, Mary Mamer of Portland, Ore. He was predeceased by one son, John; a daughter-in-law, Ellen; and three sisters, Louisan, Lyle and June. He has six grandchildren: Ethan, Sarah, Jessica, Elizabeth, Rebecka and David. Stuart graduated from Urbana High School in 1938 as co-valedictorian, from the University of Illinois in 1942 - Phi Beta Kappa and Bronze tablet - and from the University of Illinois College of Law, No. 1 in his graduating class in 1946. After finishing his undergraduate degree, he worked in the budget department of the U.S. Treasury until he was drafted in March of 1943. In the U.S. Air Corps, he was assigned to the pilot training program and served in Texas and Oklahoma. He drove most of the night of Sept. 9 to be in Urbana for his wedding. As a newlywed he was assigned to B-24 co-pilot school in Denver, Colo. He was discharged in 1945 and returned to the College of Law that year. Upon graduation he joined the law firm of Thomas & Mulliken and retired from the practice of law with Thomas, Mamer & Haughey shortly after his 90th birthday in 2011. He also taught a course in law office practice for 20 years in the UI College of Law. He served in many charitable organizations including the Champaign County Community Chest, as first president of the local United Way, and in various positions in Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society. In his later years, he was designated as a Pillar of the Champaign County Bar Association and was recognized as a Resident of Distinction by the Half-Century Club of Champaign-Urbana. Stuart was a 75-year member of the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana and served on its board of trustees for several years. He was a member of Session - its ruling body - for six years. For almost all his life he enjoyed the Mies family reunion, a yearly gathering of the multiple cousins and second cousins of his mother's family. At last count he was one of only three cousins still living. Most of all, he enjoyed frequent visits to the cottages at Plum Lake, Wis., that Donna's parents bought in 1931 and 1939. He became a first-rate woodsman, an obsession he nurtured and shared with his sons. He kept a clean woods, creating piles of firewood that will last for future generations. In 2012, Stuart moved from Clark Lindsey Village in Urbana to Merrill, Wis., to be closer to his son Richard and family, and the lake property. He lived at Bell Tower, a care facility that assisted him with memory loss. In these later years, Stuart would frequently remark on how lucky he was to have had a great career and an attendant and caring family. He was in every way a man who made his own luck by doing his best, both as a professional and as a father and grandfather, for all around him. He will be missed. A private memorial service will be held at a future date. Memorials can be given to KrannertCenter.com or the charity of your choice.