Obituary

Michael Andrew Watts, 52, of Elgin, Illinois, passed away on June 16, 2017.

Michael was born on April 6, 1965, in New Jersey, the second son of Ralph Allen and Margaret Schierling Watts. He was raised in Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Montana and finally in Kansas. He settled with his mother and siblings in Newton, spending 11 summers living and working on his Schierling grandparents' family farm at Inman, a second home for him and his siblings.

Michael graduated from Newton High School. He attended the University of Chicago, graduating magna cum laude. He married Elizabeth Leavy and joined the extended Leavy family for the following 20 years. During this time, he worked in Chicago first as a paralegal, then on a three-year internship with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, working with the Fellows program.

Despite developing cancer with four recurrences over the next 12 years, as well as other chronic health conditions, Michael continued to work as a paralegal whenever possible. He also completed his Master of Library Science, commuting with his sister to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with both, in their respective years of graduation, awarded the Hazel Rudiger award for Best Innovative New Librarian.

In August 2004, Michael wed Kim Renee Callesen and moved to the Fox River Valley. For the past 12 years, he has worked as a librarian with the Aurora Public Library system.

Michael will be remembered for his deep compassion and kindness towards family, friends and every other single person whom he encountered. His life was grounded in his spirituality. His sense of humor, intelligence and creativity, refusal to judge others, combined with his ability to listen fully, were unrivaled for all those who knew him.

Survivors include his wife, Kim Renee Watts of Elgin, Illinois; her son Johnathan and daughter Kelly; the Leavy family in Oak Park, Illinois; his mother, Margaret; his brother, Richard; sister, Heather; the Jamie Watts family in California, Michigan and Massachusetts; and his extended family in Kansas.  He is preceded in death by his father, Jamie (Ralph) Watts, who passed away on June 12,1985, in California; his grandparents, Ben and Minnie Schierling in Kansas; and his uncle, Don.

Memorial services will be held on July 1, 2017, at the St. James Episcopal Church, 516 Washington St., West Dundee, IL 60118. The services will begin at 2:30 p.m. with a special music presentation honoring Michael, followed by the Memorial Mass. We thank you for helping us both mourn the loss and honor the life of our beloved Michael.  In his honor, you may consider donations of any of the following if you wish: blood at your local American Red Cross blood bank (the family would appreciate thanking you if you notify them of this gift of of life); or the Aurora Public Library Foundation, in care of the Santorini Public Library of Aurora, 101 S. River St., Aurora, IL 60506. Memorials being established at the library include a shelf dedicated in his honor to house books; programming in which Michael's patience, compassion, and scope of knowledge excelled; and a trust fund to begin to keep alive the dreams he had of the public library's key mission to serve as potential holy ground for everyone in our society. Flowers add the ultimate transitory beauty to our world. These are also welcome. Those choosing to remember Michael in this way should contact St. James Episcopal Church.