A Dedication and Thank You to the Lisching Family

A Dedication and Thank you to the Lisching Family,


Today is the day that marks the passing of Ailie I. Lisching of Illinois.

This is a significant event in my life, because Ailie and her husband Jacob brought into the world some very great and memorable people.

Born to Jacob and Ailie were Becky, Bobbie, Bonnie, Butch and Mark. (Not necessarily in that order)

My life intersected the lives of half of those family members.

When I was ten years old, I moved from Evergreen Park, Illinois to Lake-In-The-Hills, Illinois.

I began the 5th grade at Eastview Elementary in Algonquin, and this is where I met Jacob Jr, “Butch” Lisching. During the school years for the next two years, Butch and I were great friends. You can read about some of our exploits, in the “Legend of Butch Lisching,” located in my article Blogs.

Butch died from a car accident around 1969, and I still feel the loss today. But I feel him always around.

Rebecca, “Becky” Lisching was a graduate of 1963 from Dundee High School. When Butch and I began 7th grade at Dundee Junior High School, we rode on school busses arriving sometimes an hour before school started.

Mr. Marshall, our Principal, decided that rather than have hundreds of wild and crazy teenagers running around the school and hour or so before class, he would have social dancing on the stage in the school auditorium.

We had a juke box set up and all the popular songs by Elvis, Chubby Checker, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, and others would play and we would dance with the girls.

When boys begin 7th grade they are very small compared to 9th grade boys and especially 9th grade girls who are at about 90% of their height.

Usually all the boys, regardless of grade, would line up against the wall, trading punches on each other’s arms, while the girls would dance with each other, praying that their boyfriends would dance with them.

That’s where Becky Lisching and her 9th grade girlfriends came into our lives.

Three of us tiny 7th grade boys, Danny Cervantes, Scott Alloway, and me, would stand near the juke box and Becky would ask one of us to dance a slow dance.

She would then get her 9th grade girlfriends to “cut in” on each of us during the slow dance so each of us would get to dance with several beautiful girls from the 9th grade class.

We were in teenage heaven.

The ploy was cute, and the 9th grade boys, many of them on the football team, would take each of us boys aside and pretend they were offended; however they couldn’t hold back their laughter. It was a lot of fun for all of us, and gave me personal confidence in dancing with beautiful girls.

(My wife or 25 years was a dance instructor for 11 years, before meeting me)

Becky Lisching was the instigator and she was one of the most beautiful, kind, and popular girls of her class.

My next interaction with a Lisching was with Bobbie, who was Butch’s younger sister.

She too, was gorgeous, was loved by everyone in her class, smart and a cheerleader throughout junior high and high school.

One of my best memories was a week after graduating from high school in 1965, Bobbie and here cousin asked me and Tom Heavey, to take them to Lake Geneva Wisconsin. This was on a weeknight, and I forgot to tell my parents I would be out a while.

We had a lot of fun talking and walking around the lake. By the time I got home after dropping everyone off, it was six o-clock in the morning. My parents were worried and thought I drowned in the lake.

Bobbie was nice and I remember the last day I ever saw her. It was August 22, 1966.

I was drafted in the army and was leaving on a train to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to begin Basic Training.

Paul Mills, who was Bobbie’s boyfriend at the time, was drafted the same day. I saw both of them at the train station.

I didn’t know of Bonnie or Mark as they were much younger. I am sure they were just as wonderful as Becky, Bobbie, and Butch.

Just before Ailie died, I had the honor of talking to her on the phone. I wanted to make sure she knew what an impact her wonderful children made on my life.

Judy Lisching, a former family member was kind enough to field my call during a busy day in real-estate to give me Ailie’s telephone number.


Thank you, Ailie and Jacob Lisching. I hope you are able to be around for all of your children, grand children and great grandchildren and witness their lives. I dedicate today and everyday to you and your wonderful family.

Sincerely,

Wayne F. Perkins