WHEATON – For many in the city, the name Mary Lubko still holds a great deal of fondness.

The longtime Senior Center director for the Wheaton Park District, who died in November 2015, may have her name on her beloved center should the district go forward with a vote later this month.

Current center Director Linda Dolan said Lubko, who was the first in the district to hold the position in 1977 and served for 22 years, said her predecessor was beloved both in the community and among area park districts.

"Mary was well-known and very admired and well-respected by everyone in the field doing field programs," she said. "She had a huge personality. … I remember the first time I actually met her I was at an Illinois parks and recreation conference, and when she walked in there was a buzz. She was a star – she was practically famous in our group."

To this day, the spirit of Lubko is that of a "guardian angel," Dolan said, as her infectious positive attitude and seemingly ever-expanding personal touch impacted thousands across her time in the district and set a tone that continues today.

Dolan said Lubko vastly expanded the offering of the senior program's various activities, including today's card games, quilting groups, walking clubs, informational programming and more than a dozen others. She said those at the center were "thrilled" at the possibility of the renaming and hoped to put up pictures and signs for Lubko to honor the culture she instilled.

Wheaton Park District Board of Commissioners President Jane Hodgkinson said she originally met the beloved Lubko when the former was the director of the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association.

"It was a lesser-developed area, and she was instrumental in realizing that if Wheaton would work closely with other surrounding communities that it could stretch their programmatic dollars," she said.

Even back then, Lubko was dedicated toward cooperation with other agencies, something she became known for throughout her career as she started a group of 14 area park district senior citizen directors and became a member of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and National Council on Aging.

Hodgkinson said she remembered asking her to help fundraise for the city's sesquicentennial celebration.

"I said, 'Mary, you know everybody in town – there's a great deal you can do,'" Hodgkinson remembered.

For Lubko, her work was more than a job, she said – once she got involved with a senior, it was often for life.

"I would run into Mary at the community center or the Walgreen's or what have you, on her way to visiting someone," Hodgkinson said. "She did that on a pretty regular basis – sometimes almost on a daily basis while still maintaining a very active lifestyle."

Lubko's activity extended beyond her Park District duties. She was given the Marian Park Human Services Award in 1963 and the Kiwanis Club of Wheaton's first Citizen of the Year Award in 1985. She was known as an active traveler throughout her life, including on the many trips she organized for Wheaton seniors.

She was even a familiar face around Cantigny Golf Course. Head golf professional Patrick Lynch said he believed Lubko started coming to Cantigny when it opened 26 years ago.

"She was one of our favorites – she was a terrific lady and absolutely loved golf," he said. "She always had a smile on her face."

Lynch said Lubko even had a special tee time. She and a few other senior golfers were allowed in early on Mondays to accommodate for their slower rate of play.

The group, always filled with irrepressible joy and love of the game, were some of the course's most loyal customers, Lynch said, and Lubko was always front and center even up until the end of her life.

"She would always come in and talk to us," he said. "She knew all the staff. … Some days she'd have a hard time walking almost from her car to the golf shop, but she was out here pretty consistently."

The board is expected to take a final vote Feb. 17 on renaming the building, Hodgkinson said, which she expected would be approved.

"She is the epitome, I think, of the type of person that communities really, really respect and appreciate," she said. "Maybe some people don't know how appreciative they are until, like this, they're gone."