His wife still lived in Southern California and he was traveling back there for a surprise visit. (Photo submitted by the Illinois Association of Park Districts)Īrtz, who moved to Illinois in January 1979, was the executive director of the Illinois Association of Park Districts in Springfield. The Robert Artz Lifetime Achievement Award, presented each year at the organization's annual conference, is given to a professional in the field of parks and recreation who has had a lasting impact and has created awareness of the importance of parks and recreation among his/her peers and in the communities they serve. He died on American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed just after takeoff from O'Hare International Airport on May 25, 1979. Robert 'Bob' Artz, executive director of the Illinois Association of Park Districts in Springfield, is shown in a photo circa 1979.
What I didn’t realize until the (memorial’s) dedication was there were families there who lost up to five family members at once. My father was heartbroken over losing two loved ones and committed suicide in 1997. My mom was in remission from breast cancer and three months after the accident her cancer came back and she passed away in 1981. The devastation of the accident affected my family way beyond 1979. I remember she had just bought a new Pontiac Firebird and I went with her to sign the papers and bring it home.
She was studying to be a nurse at South Suburban College at the time of the accident and needed a break from school and the heartbreak of the wedding being called off. She was a sweet and beautiful sister who had many friends. We ended up in church on the 2nd of June for Kathy - for her funeral. They were Gail DeCastro and Rhonda DeYoung, who also perished. To take her mind off the wedding, my mom talked her into going to Hawaii with two other friends. “Kathy was supposed to get married and the date was set for June 2 of that year, but it was called off. (Photo submitted by her brother, Michael Adduci) (HANDOUT) She died on American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed just after takeoff from O'Hare International Airport on May 25, 1979. Kathleen Adduci, shown here standing up in a friend's wedding, circa 1979.
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