By Steve Metsch
Longtime Lyons Village Trustee Pat Alonzi has decided to resign as she faces mounting health issues.
Mayor Christopher Getty read her letter of resignation, dated Jan. 3, into the record when the village board met on Feb. 7.
Alonzi, 85, had been a trustee for 12 years, Getty said.
Her letter to the mayor and village board reads as follows:
“After careful consideration, I have decided to retire from my position as Trustee in the Village of Lyons.
“Serving as an elected official for my community has been a great honor. After 12 years of faithful service to the residents of Lyons, I feel my time has come to pass the baton.
“I am very proud of our current administration and I applaud the dedication to the residents, businesses and community at large. The Village of Lyons is in great hands and I see many more good things to come.
“Please accept my resignation as a Village of Lyons Trustee.”
Getty and some of the other trustees spoke highly of Alonzi.
“As many individuals know, she has had setbacks medically,” said Getty, who said he was “sorry” to hear of her decision. “We wish her the best.”
After the meeting, he addressed how Alonzi worked hard to improve the village.
“We definitely wanted her on the board. She cultivated the neighbors and cared about the community having lived here for so long. Her one husband had built houses in the area. Her late husband owned Alonzi’s restaurant in Brookfield. She worked there.”
“She was part of the community, cared about things. She stayed in the loop on everything,” Getty said. “We miss her.”
Alonzi was well-known for being the driving force behind an annual block party held outside her home on the village’s west side. It grew and grew over the years to become one of the biggest events in Lyons each year.
Trustee Paul Marchiori said “she was great to work with.”
“Pat was always very happy and polite, always there to do her part. I always remember her block parties, especially in the beginning. All the cooking she did. She would cook for days,” Marchiori said.
Alonzi “definitely is going to be missed,” added Trustee Teresa Echeverria.
“She got everybody together. She welcomed everybody into her home. She was always open. More than anything, she would share her experience when she was with the police department,” Echeverria said.
“She put the town first. She cared. And when one of us got hurt, she was calling, sending us food,” Echeverria said.
“She will be missed,” added Clerk Irma Quintero.
In an August 2019 story in the Desplaines Valley News, Alonzi talked about the block party as she rested on a folding chair.
“My legs,” she confided, “are killing me.”
Alonzi was 81 then and had been up until the wee hours preparing food for the party.
“I was up until 2 in the morning making pasta, macaroni and tuna salads. Each tray serves 50. It’s a lot of work,” she said.
“But,” Alonzi added with a smile, “I’m glad that everybody came out.”
Several hundred people attended the party that was held on a Sunday afternoon at Konrad Avenue and 40th Street near Alonzi’s home.