In Memoriam
Sincere thanks and gratitude to all who have helped our group flourish.
Thomas Walton Roby IV, Doctor of Philosophy in Education from the University of Chicago, a former professor of Humanities, Philosophy, and Religion in the City Colleges of Chicago, and a former President and critique leader of the Poets’ Club of Chicago, was the author of three books of poetry, reading and performing his poetry in various venues in Chicago, while leading workshops, chairing contests, and writing criticism. He was also the creator of The Poetry Wheel, and Omniphonic,
a performance poetry duo with his son, Lem. Thomas Walton Roby IV passed away on December 31, 2022.
David Nekimken a long-time Poets & Patrons member was involved with Brown Bag Poets at the Chicago Cultural Center and workshops at the Poetry Foundation. He published a collection of his poems, Anything and Everything Goes. David’s passion for the arts and humanities included doing improv with Not too Old for Improv, also at the Cultural Center, and Meteor Shower at Harold Washington Library, and writing and performing in storytelling classes GeNarrations and InterGens at the Goodman Theatre. He was a thoughtful and committed member of a non-violent communication group. He passed away February, 2022.
Nancy Carrigan was a Chicago area artist and poet. She saw a deep relationship between the two. In the last decades she wrote, Notes on an Ancient Chinese Flute, which won a grand prize in the Dancing Poetry Competition in San Francisco. The Prize resulted in her going to China as a guest of the Chinese government. In the 80s she merged her interest in art with stage sets and costumes for several ballet troops and was also involved in the Fermi Arts Program.
Glenna Rose (Preston) Holloway (7 Feb 1928–4 Sep 2015), whose husband Robert died in 1997 was a well-known Chicago-area poet, beloved by many. She was the founder of the Illinois State Poetry Society and her work was widely published, even though she had spent her first career in interior design. In addition to poetry, she was a lapidary artist, silversmith, and painter. She also served as Illinois Senior Poet Laureate three times and won the Pushcart Prize (2001), The Milton Doorman award, the Heart Crane Memorial, an Illinois Art’s Council Fellowship (2005), Grand Prize, Founders Award, National Federation of State Poetry Societies (2006), the National League of American Pen Women Biennial (2006). She has one book, Never Far from Water: And Other Love Stories (2009). Her free-lance writing appeared in Chicago newspapers and many magazines.
Margarete Cantrall (8 Apr 1921–19 Oct 2009) was born in Aurora, IL, and never lived so far from Chicago that she couldn't get there to see a play. She graduated from Northern Illinois University (B.A.) and the University of Illinois (M.A.). During the 1941-42 school year, she was state champion in extemporaneous speaking and debate. She taught English and American literature at Carroll College; University High School, Urbana, IL; and Northwestern Military and Naval Academy, Walworth, WS. For 27 years, she taught at North High School in Downers Grove, IL, where she chaired the English Department for 12 years and served two years as Assistant Principal. She designed the gifted program for the school, and sponsored a book club and student literary magazine. From 1987–2006, after her "retirement," she taught in the Older Adults Institute of the College of DuPage. Maggie, as her friends called her, held leadership positions in the Illinois State Poetry Society, Poets & Patrons of Chicago, the Jane Austen Society, American Association of University Women, Delta Kappa Gamma, and the Residents Council of Fairview Baptist Home.
Gertrude Rubin had Chicago roots. She studied at Northeastern Illinois University and received her MFA from the Writers' Program, University of Illinois at Chicago in 1978. She belonged to Women Mobilized for Change in the 1970s, was an activist, and wrote two poetry books: The Passover Poems, and A Beating of Wings. She belonged to the Poets' Club of Chicago and was president of Poets and Patrons. She had four of her poems on "Dial-A-Poem, Chicago" and was published in a number of anthologies, including the Anthology of Magazine Verse, 1985 and in many journals. In 1986, she won the Grand Prize in the Indiana State Poetry Contest, as well as many other awards. Gert helped organize group readings at Guild, Rizzoli's Bookstore, the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, and the Chicago Historical Bookworks in Evanston. She performed her own readings in a number of settings. For at least two years, she did a series of readings at local nursing homes and senior citizen centers. For five years, she served as program convenor for disabled adults at the Mayer Kaplan Community Center.
Patricia Gangas (March 19, 1939–January 25, 2011) was a member of the Poets Club of Chicago and was the president of Poets and Patrons also in Chicago for nine years. She had three books of poetry published: All These Years, The Final Approach, These Places of Light. Her children's book Cats Everywhere was published in 2003. She authored a manuscript of mystical poetry called Gathering God, and a memoir titled How I Scared Cancer to Death: with God's help, neither of which has yet been published. Her hobbies were reading, attending college classes and playing Texas Hold'em. She was the wife of Thomas and mother of Peter and Valerie.