Downers Grove historian Lois Sterba has called the village home since arriving in 1991. Born in Chicago and raised in Cicero, Illinois, she studied history at the University of Illinois and earned her teaching degree from DePaul University. She taught 1st and 2nd grades in Chicago and Cicero before moving to Downers Grove with her family. There, she served as a substitute teacher for District 58, teaching 1st-, 2nd-, and 6th-grade students. During this time, she developed a lasting interest in the village’s history and sought ways to share that knowledge. After retiring from teaching in 2016, she volunteered as a docent at the Downers Grove Museum, leading tours, teaching classes, and supporting educational programs and summer camps.
In coordination with District 58, Sterba developed and led an annual local history field trip for second graders that included a bus tour around town and a walking tour of the Main Street Cemetery, an event she especially enjoyed. Sharing the village’s history with District 58 students has been one of her favorite experiences.
Her commitment to local history found another outlet when she joined the Downers Grove Historical Society board of directors in 2014. As a director, she served as Treasurer for 6 years, regularly speaks on historical topics, and conducts research to produce detailed biographies and historical articles for the Society’s website.
Sterba has taken a leadership role in the stewardship and restoration of the historic Main Street Cemetery (founded in 1856). Through her extensive research on the cemetery’s residents, the Society produced its self-guided, interactive walking tour at www.mainstreetcemetery.org. This research was instrumental in obtaining Landmark status for the site in 2019 and will support plans for a comprehensive document about the Main Street Cemetery.
Sterba designed and implements the ‘Living Cemetery’ event each October. She is especially proud of this community event because it showcases residents and student actors who bring to life the stories of those buried in the Main Street Cemetery. Through this program, Lois continues to share Downers Grove’s history, its people, and its places with the wider community.
In addition, she has served as president of the Oak Hill/Oak Crest Cemetery Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring and improving these cemeteries under the guidance of Downers Grove Township. She continues to serve on the board and has contributed to cemetery research and inventory work documenting the lives of many people buried there.
In recognition of her many contributions, Sterba was named the Downers Grove Historical Society’s Historian of the Year for 2016.
Through her teaching, research, and preservation efforts, she hopes to inspire future generations to discover, appreciate, and carry forward Downers Grove’s history.
