Michael L. Igoe 1930-2022
Michael Lambert Igoe, 91, of Chicago passed away peacefully Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, with loving family at his side.
Michael was the devoted husband of 67 years to Helen Douaire Igoe, doting and incredibly dedicated father to five children: Michael L. Igoe III, William D. (Kathryn) Igoe, Kevin P. Igoe, Sheila M. Igoe (Brian Grant), and Ruth E. Igoe. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Helen in 2020. Born on April 24, 1930, in Chicago, Michael went to St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School in the Hyde Park neighborhood where he grew up, Canterbury School in New Milford, CT, and graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. with a degree in economics in 1952. Upon graduation, Michael and Helen, were married and embarked upon Michael’s service in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954, where he was stationed and they entered newlywed life at Sandia Base, in Albuquerque, NM. After military service, the young couple moved back to Chicago, where Michael entered and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1956.
During most of his long legal career in Chicago, which extended until 2013, Michael focused on general corporate practice and real estate law as a partner at Vedder Price, in Chicago. In his legal work, he served as general counsel for a number of corporations. He also represented state and local governing bodies in various matters.
As with both his parents in Chicago and maternal grandparents in Galesburg, IL, before him, Michael was also active in Democratic politics. In his case, this was with Chicago and Cook County Democratic politics and government affairs in numerous capacities, from volunteering as a Chicago precinct captain to serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Chicago. Michael’s most visible and longest role was serving 29 years as secretary of the Cook County Board of Commissioners under Presidents John Duffy, Seymour Simon, Richard Ogilvie, and George Dunne. Michael firmly believed in the role that government - when administered with fiduciary discipline, consistent fidelity, and good will - could play in benefitting the lives of citizens.
In the years that followed his retirement from Cook County and as an attorney continuing in private practice at Vedder Price, Michael served as Special Counsel to the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, where as he managed the Legal Department for the Office of the Secretary of State.
Throughout his long life, Michael also served on numerous boards and committees, everything from neighborhood to faith communities. Michael served as a board member of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conservation Council, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, and the Southeast Chicago Commission. He also served on the board of the Jesse White Scholars Foundation. Michael was a longtime parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church and Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, and served as a member of the Board of the Catholic Theological Union.
An avid admirer of the arts, Michael was also a 50-year subscriber of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he spent many Friday afternoons at matinee performances in his favorite lower balcony seat. He was elected as a CSO Governing Member in 2015 and served on the Annual Fund Committee, where he was an active fundraiser for CSO efforts in Chicago and beyond. Also passionate about history, poetry, and the written word ⎯ with a near-photographic memory, as he would often recite poems or grab a favorite book passage to share ⎯ Michael was also a longtime life member on the Board of the Great Books Foundation.
As an alum of Camp Minocqua for Boys in Wisconsin, Michael purchased several camp cabins for his family to enjoy when it closed in the 1970s, Michael was also an advocate for conservation efforts. He also served on the board of the Lakeland Conservancy, and was a longtime donor to other conservation efforts.
In his personal life, there was also Tara: a beloved Pearson 36 sailboat moored at Burnham Harbor for 37 years, named after the Irish Hill of Kings and the last of many boats in his life. In his youth, Michael frequented Chicago harbors and volunteered to crew on yachts. At camp, he sailed scows and eventually became a Georgetown University sailing team leader. On summer weekends, Michael and Helen would cruise Tara on Lake Michigan, entertaining guest crew members with lively conversation about topics from politics, policy, the environment, and city skyline changes. Sports were rarely discussed.
Michael was the compassionate rock of his large family and a caring grandfather to seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, one of whom is named after his wife, Helen. He also greatly enjoyed his Douaire nephews, George Douaire III and Daniel Douaire, and niece, Hannah Douaire McNulty, and their families. During his lifetime in school, law and politics, Michael was grateful for his close circle of friends and colleagues.