Nancy Ellen Hobbs: Obituary

CRETE, IL — Nancy Ellen Hobbs, a Crete beautician and community volunteer, died Jan. 16 of complications related to stroke. She was 75.

She was born Nancy Zehr on Chicago’s South Side to Anthony, a tool grinder and baker, and his wife, Florence, an educator who would later teach science at Beecher High School. The family moved to a farm in Beecher when Hobbs was in fourth grade, and she and her older sister attended a one-room schoolhouse their first year there.

“We were always busy with cutting the grass and weeding the garden and raising a calf each,” said her older sister, Amy Aspell of Bainbridge Island, Washington. “We were in the 4-H and took our heifers to the fair.”

Hobbs eventually was bussed to school in town, and over the years, she grew to be a social young woman, her sister recalled, one who was always surrounded by friends and was well-loved by her peers. She graduated from Beecher High School in 1961.

After graduation, a newly married Hobbs began cutting hair, setting up a shop in the basement of her Crete home to be close to her young sons, Eric and Randy Gut. She served the men and women of the area for more than five decades, building a loyal clientele who followed her through the years, and she developed close friendships with many of them. Those bonds withstood the true tests of time: In some cases, it was Hobbs who styled the hair of her clients for their own funeral services.

Hobbs was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Prairie State College, and an amateur photographer who experimented with black-and-white photography and loved capturing family events on film, particularly those that included her grandchildren. She was also known as a local crafter who could turn found objects into beautiful bulletin boards, potty chairs and patio tables, Aspell said.

Hobbs, a decades-long member of Crete United Methodist Church, also volunteered with PADS, a local homeless shelter system, and often served Thanksgiving dinner to people who were homeless, as well. She held several volunteer roles at her church, including at the resale shop and with other missions there. She was known, her friends and former clients said, for her sweet and sunny disposition.

“I think my sister Nancy is just about the most generous and forgiving and loving person I have ever known,” Aspell said.

She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Richard, of Crete; her son Randy and his wife, Melissa, of St. John, Ind.; her daughter-in-law, Kris Paris of Huntington Beach, Calif.; her stepchildren Erika Hobbs of Chicago, Kristin Trammell of Beecher, Brett Hobbs of Monee, Lisa Westover and her husband, Casey, of Downers Grove; her sister Aspell; and 11 nieces, grandchildren and stepgrandchildren. Her older son, Eric, died Dec. 27, 2019.

A public funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Mon., Feb. 3, at Crete United Methodist Church, 1321 Main St., Crete. It will be followed by a luncheon for family members and close friends.