DECATUR - Mildred "Milli" Jackson Velek went to meet the Lord on April 15, 2024, surrounded by people who cared for her deeply.
She was born February 22, 1933, in Lake County, IL, to George W. Jackson and Mary Thompson. After a brief spell living on the family farm in Wisconsin, she returned to Chicago on her own to finish high school in 1951 at Lyons Township High School. Mildred continued her education at Lyons Township Community College. Hungry for knowledge she continued he studies at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb earning her degree in 1955.
While at NIU she met Joseph "Joe" Velek. They married in 1955 (divorced 1991). For the next five years Milli worked as a speech teacher and put her husband through medical school. They had three sons together, Paul, David, and Tom. Once she had children Milli devoted herself to being a mother and wife. The couple moved to Staten Island while Joe served in the Public Health Service during the Vietnam War. They moved to Decatur in 1967 and Milli forever called it home.
Milli was deeply involved in the community. She developed a love of theater, especially musical theatre, while working her way through school in Chicago. That passion carried with her all her life. She was a fixture at performances at Millikin University and Theater 7 from the 1970s onward. For 25 years she supported and later performed in the local production of The Nutcracker and in 2021 she was honored for a quarter century of service to the annual production.
For Milli, nothing was more important than education. In addition to her career as a teacher, she worked as a teacher's assistant at Dennis Elementary School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School. She was an avid reader, amassing a massive book collection and subscriptions to multiple magazines. Once when asked why she read so many magazines Millie replied, "I just want to know what is going on out there." She encouraged others to pursue their educational dreams with both emotional and financial support. That support went beyond her immediate and extended family; Milli served on the Parents Board at Millikin as a liaison for international students. Many a holiday found her opening the family home to international students who could not afford the trip home and needed a place to stay when the dorms were closed.
Her love of Millikin University and her desire to support education led to her establishing the "Jackson Family Scholarship" at MU with her brother Bill. When explaining why she made the financial commitment to establish the scholarship Milli stated "My mother only finished the seventh grade, and it was her dream to have all her children finish high school... Now we are doing something that will help generations of future college students achieve their family's dreams, something that will go on forever."
Memorials may be made to Millikin University and designated to the Jackson Family Scholarship. A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church in Decatur on May 4, 2024. A visitation with family will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the church with the memorial service at 11:00 a.m. A lunch will follow.
Published by Decatur Herald & Review on Apr. 26, 2024.
Mildred Velek Obituary (1933 - 2024) - Decatur, IL - Decatur Herald & Review (legacy.com)
