Al P. Sturges

Alan (Al) P. Sturges (87) of Park Forest, Illinois passed away on Friday, February 18, 2022.

Al is survived by his wife of 41 years, Barbara Graves Sturges; his sons, Andrew and Britt; his daughter, Leah Sturges Mayer (David); his grandsons, Micah (Kate), Caleb and August Mayer; his brother, Guy P. (Vicki) and his sister, Diana P. Dade.  He will be missed by many extended family members including nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins and numerous friends.  Friends include Romeos and Martini Club.
Al was born December 7, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York to his loving parents, Lionel & Cicely (Peabody) Sturges. He grew up in Malaga, New Jersey before moving to Virginia for college; Galveston, Texas; Hammond, Indiana; and finally, Park Forest, Illinois.

Al earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Va. Tech) where he was civilian class president.  He earned an MBA from University of Chicago. He retired from Amoco Oil Company in 1992 after working there for 35 years.  

Al was a longtime avid bicyclist and bicycle advocate.  His many roles in bicycle advocacy include past president of Folks On Spokes; board member and former executive director of Ride Illinois (formerly League of Illinois Bicyclists); and past board member of Active Transportation Alliance.   He was a mentor to countless folks starting to ride a bike seriously.  In his best years he spent about 6,000 miles on a bike. His bike travels with Barbara took them to 4 continents and were some of their most enjoyable trips.  At the time of his death, he had an electric assist tricycle on order because he never wanted to give up riding. 

Al was a great asset to the community of Park Forest where he moved in 1962 with his former wife (Katherine Kent).   He was inducted into the Park Forest Hall of Fame in 2012 for his many years of service including member of the Village Plan Commission; Board member & President of the Area E Co-op; League of Women Voters of the Park Forest Area and coaching his sons in Little League baseball. He continued to be a mainstay of the Park Forest Committee for Nonpartisan Government and the Potpourri lecture series at the Park Forest Library where he planned and presented programs as recently as the week before his passing.

Al was a great supporter of the arts and a life-long learner.  After enjoying classes at The Knowledge Exchange (Governors State University), he joined the curriculum committee and presented classes at TKE. He was the longest serving board member of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park and a generous patron of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tall Grass Arts Center.

Al’s hobbies included reading, music, sculpture, ceramics, gardening, astrology and the Phillies with profound interest in cooking and travel.  He planned biannual family reunions around the country and travelled with Barbara to more places than we can list.  Especially significant is when he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro after quadruple by-pass surgery.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park at Governors State University (govst.edu/nmsp) in his memory.

Services will be held on Friday, Feb. 25 at Lain-Sullivan Funeral Home in Park Forest, IL, 50 Westwood Drive, 60466. Visitation at 3:00pm; Service 4:00 – 5:30pm. Live streaming of the service will be available. For details visit lain-sullivan.com

The Service can be seen on Live Stream at the following link: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1645398369168132 Copy and paste this link into a browser.