Jeanne Sathre Obituary

CHAMPAIGN - Jeanne Lee Sathre, 72, passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2024, after a brief battle with cancer.

She was preceded in death by father, Marshall Sathre, and mother, Leslie (née Finkbinker) Sathre, of Marshall.

She is survived by two daughters, Alexis Wolff (Andrew Holtz) of Toronto and Bess Wolff (Ted Veselsky) of Urbana; three grandsons, Flynn Holtz, Jonah Holtz and Marshall Veselsky; a sister, Ellen Sathre (James) Harms of Champaign; a nephew, Steve (Jessica) Harms; three nieces, Leslie (Joe) Rydberg, Jill Harms and Johanna Harms; and many beloved cousins and friends.

Not all families are related by blood, and Jeanne's also included Elaine and Jerry Halley, Nathan (Kelly) Halley, Phil (Helen) Halley and Abby (Neo) Stylianou of St. Louis. 

Jeanne enjoyed an idyllic childhood on Eighth Street in Marshall. She was a 1969 Marshall High School graduate, a long-running Halloween costume contest winner (together with friend Donald Ferris), the worst Marshallette dancer in MHS history and a manager of the Marshall Community Pool. She swam for the University of Illinois and retroactively received a varsity Illini letter in 2003 along with other early female athletes.

Despite not taking a single pre-law course, Jeanne took the LSAT on a dare and received the UI's highest score that year. She attended law school at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was the first woman selected for membership to the Order of the Barristers honor society, and then entered the legal profession during an era when more than 90 percent of her colleagues were male.

In law school, Jeanne met her ex-husband, Charles Wolff, with whom she had two daughters. After they divorced, Jeanne raised her daughters as a working single parent. She practiced law in Edwardsville and later in Marshall, where she served as the sole public defender for Clark and Edgar counties from 1994 to 2005. Jeanne believed firmly in civil liberties and second chances. A client once made a plaque declaring her "a rose among the thorns of justice," which her family teased her about for the rest of her life. 

A lifelong reader who enjoyed over 100 books a year, Jeanne retired from law and opened Say3 Books, a used bookstore that operated on Mattis Avenue in Champaign from 2006 until 2013. She swapped writing legal briefs for personal essays for the now-defunct Open Salon blog. One humorous essay, "25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore," went viral, with more than 5 million views. She also contributed to the News-Gazette's Voices column.

In her later years, Jeanne moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, with daughter Alexis (where she had a column in The Guadalajara Reporter) before returning to Champaign with daughter Bess. If you walked along the Phinney Branch path from 2017 to 2023, you might have enjoyed her well-stocked Little Free Library and colorful face art made from found objects.

Throughout her life, Jeanne traveled to Norway, India, Benin, Ireland, England, Sri Lanka, Canada and Mexico, among other places, but she was happiest on a beach with a good book. She also enjoyed coffee (which she drank like water), bargain hunting at garage sales and T.J. Maxx with her daughters and friend Bev Bubeck Bramble, watching CNN, and most of all, spoiling her grandsons. She will be deeply missed by those who loved her. 

A private celebration of Jeanne's creative, adventurous life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sathre Scholarship Fund, 2322 Nugent Circle, Urbana, IL 61802, established for Marshall High School students.