Lamont Lee Perington 1942-2019
Lamont Lee Perington, 77, of Maple Park, died Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at Season’s Hospice in Naperville.
He was born Feb. 9, 1942, in Waukegan, the son of Philip and Marguerite Perington. Lee is survived by his devoted wife, Barbara (Rossman); daughter, Joy (Michael) Miletic of North Aurora; grandchildren, Amanda and Noah Miletic; sister, Lorraine McDowell of Winthrop Harbor; sister-in-law, Mildred Perington of Johnstown, Iowa; and many dear nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Neil, and his son Jeffrey.
Lee and Barb absolutely loved their sweet kitty, Miss Chris, who showed up at their home years ago on a frigid Christmas Eve. She enjoyed lounging inside Lee’s briefcase while he worked on cases at home. Also, Lee will be greatly missed by their awesome Aussie, Bella, who spent many hours by his side.
Lee was a very humble man, always thinking of others, which actually made him a great humanitarian. He could start a conversation with anyone around him, ask them questions, and get them to open up about themselves. Lee was genuinely interested in his fellow man and loved to be around people. He had a way about him that would make people feel good. One of Lee’s most memorable qualities was his wonderful sense of humor. He always had some type of joke or funny story to tell about life and he had such a quick wit. Lee loved to sing (solo and in a neighborhood barbershop quartet) and play the guitar. On a regular basis, for many years until his illness, he looked forward to joining his group of music buddies who performed 20’s and 30’s music and sing-a-longs. He also played the bass guitar, harmonica, banjo, and ukulele, fooled around with hand puppets, and performed magic tricks. Lee enjoyed entertaining people, was fun to be around, and truly enjoyed life.
Lee obtained his private pilot’s license, was instrument rated, and spent many Saturdays at the local airports, flying and conversing with his fellow aviator friends. Lee also enjoyed snow skiing with his family and friends. He was a volunteer ski patroller for many years at Indian Head in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Part of being a ski patroller was learning first aid and CPR. Lee became an Advanced First Aid Instructor and CPR Instructor for the American Red Cross and a Winter Emergency Care instructor for the National Ski Patrol.
Lee graduated from Zion Benton High School and received a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University. He attended law school at Chicago Kent College of Law and received his Juris Doctorate degree. He practiced law since 1972 in Geneva.
Lee loved practicing law and helping people so much that he never actually retired. He very much appreciated Mary, his paralegal, who is a committed and loyal employee and has been working with him for 23 years. He was active in the Kane County Bar Association and was a past president. Lee served as a chairman of the Estate Planning and Probate, Finance, Real Estate, and Judicial Evaluation committees. He was awarded the distinguished “Community Service Award,” which is given only to one attorney per year in recognition of their dedicated and outstanding service to the community and legal profession. He was also awarded the “Service Award,” which is given in recognition of dedicated and outstanding service to the bar association. Lee served as a volunteer attorney for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for children in the juvenile court system. He served as a court annexed arbitrator and mediator for the Kane County Circuit Court 16th Judicial Circuit for over 20 years. Lee was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to the Illinois Board of Admissions, Character and Fitness Committee for the 2nd Appellate District and served as the committee chairman for three years. This committee reviews and approves law school graduates who wish to be licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois.
He was a member of and served as a chairman of the board of trustees for the United Methodist Church of Geneva for many years. He also served for several years on the Men’s Foundation of Delnor Community Hospital and was president for two of those years. Lee was the attorney and general counsel for the Geneva Park District for almost 40 years.