A
WINK AND A SMILE…those are the words now used
to describe Jace Bryant Lillis. One month
past his 21st birthday, while riding his Harley,
a drunk driver turned in front of him. On
July 23rd, 2003, at about 9:55 p.m., after
picking up his girlfriend, Lindsay Saathoff,
from her softball game, a drunk man chose
to get behind the wheel of his truck and Jace
is now gone, forever, from our lives. Lindsay
survived the crash with broken bones, and
a broken heart.
Jace and Lindsay were rendered aid at the scene by a passerby, who happened to be an EMT. They were taken to Riverside Hospital in Kankakee, Illinois. After stabilization, Jace was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center, in Maywood Illinois. He was on life-support for three days following the crash. Everything that could be done was done, but there was no hope for a meaningful recovery of any kind, due to his brain injury. After all of Jace's friends and family gathered at his bedside for the next three days to say their goodbyes, life support was withdrawn. We lost Jace 32 minutes later on July 26th, 2003. Jace's wish was to be an organ donor. He always insisted on helping others…and we were able to fulfill that last wish for him, through the "Gift of Hope".
Jace
grew up in a rather small town, Bourbonnais,
Illinois, and had lived here all his life.
It's one of those places where everybody knows
everybody. Jace had graduated from Kankakee
Community College in May, and one month before
his death, had started working for Enterprise
Rental. He was going to go places. He loved
life, but especially his friends and family,
of which he had many. He was very active in
getting his high school "Communications Department"
up and running. His Communications teacher
spoke about Jace at his funeral, and her eulogy
well sums up the kind of person our son was.
Lana Weiss Brown, Communications Teacher…Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School:
"LIVE
WITH LILLIS"
When he walked into my classroom for the first
time, he winked. Little did I know at that
moment, that I was about to meet one of the
most outstanding students of my 30-year career
in public education. Much can be said about
Jace Lillis. Bright. Talented. Great pipes.
Good writer. Funny. Compassionate. Positive.
Spiritual. Driven. Creative. Kind. Gentle.
Exuberant. But, he was more than just adjectives-
he was the VERB in any sentence- when he walked
into a room, he made it better, brighter,
bigger.
His role as Station Manager of our 2-year
Communications program, at Bradley-Bourbonnais
Community High School, included managing the
Radio and Television Stations. He also anchored
a morning show and had his own radio program.
Both on microphone and off- he was a natural.
I was so convinced that he would be taking
Jay Leno's place, I saved his first show in
case they needed it for a montage at the Emmys.
His excitement for Communications equaled
his talent, and both were off the charts.
His modus operandi was a leadership style,
which elevated the success of others, cultivated
the talents of his peers, and captivated the
audiences, while giving the concept of "teamwork"-
high definition color. I remember asking him
one day- "What made you so considerate of
others, so honest, so generous with your encouragement?"
Simply, he said, "It's the way I was raised."
While looking at, what I consider to be, one
of the world's most powerful reasons to go
into teaching…I could not help but note the
amazing grace of raising a kid with all the
"right stuff."
Teenagers are my business. Sometimes, they
wear their homes on their sleeves. Sometimes,
their relationship with their families is
transparent, shining through- like mica in
a sidewalk. In Jace Lillis- his family illuminated
his way, as he not only spoke of his parents
on a daily basis- but he lived like them-
by his own design.
He told me that he was the luckiest guy in
the world, because he has the BEST PARENTS
a guy could ever have- and he does. His brother,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors,
friends, and dear girlfriend share in his
ability to make lemonade out of lemons, smile
in the face of tragedy, and make integrity
a by-law for every choice and challenge.
And speaking of challenges, broadcast journalism
is not easy work. In fact, the standards are
high- even at the high school level- even
for the very gifted- like Jace. Whether it
was his famous "Good Morning BBCHS", or his
Paul Harvey version of the school lunch menu
"Cold Milk", he was as good as it gets. It
all began with his first show ever called
"Live with Lillis".
Funny, how the first word can be said in 2
different ways. In broadcasting, going LIVE
means; blaze the trail- do it right the first
time. To a broadcaster, it's high risk- high
return. Even the most seasoned veterans carry
a sense of awe about going LIVE- because it
is so real, so unpretentious, so genuine.
For Jace Lillis- going LIVE is what he did
for a living- and in so doing, he inspired
the rest of us to blaze the trail….do it right
the first time, and go for "real"….."unpretentious"….."genuine".
Then, the other way to say the word- LIVE.
Living with Lillis is what we have all done-
in one way or another- and because we have,
we are enriched by his unsinkable, unflappable,
unbelievable love of life- and we are all
better, brighter, and bigger because of him.
Here's to Live with Lillis- always- from your
teacher, who will always live with Lillis
in her heart and who thanks you for all of
the lessons you taught me about going live.
And to think- it all began with a wink.
Show 'em your stuff, Jace Lillis.
We,
the Lillis family and Lindsay, have many people
to thank for helping us get through this horrible
time in our life. We especially thank AAIM
for being there and helping us in so many
ways.
We love and miss Jace more than words can
express…and we always will, but we want people
to remember him for his WINK AND A SMILE,
and continue to celebrate his LIFE. He'd like
that!
Thad and Lisa Lillis (mom and dad), brother
Ryan,
Lindsay, and all of Jace's family and friends
(To honor Jace's memory, the 1st Annual Jace
Lillis Memorial Golf Outing was held at the
South Shore golf course on September 10th.
Proceeds from the outing were given to AAIM
and KCC's Scholarship Fund.)
