Longtime Elgin volunteer Joseph Wars dies at age 81
Joseph Wars once recalled a time he repeatedly knocked but could not get an answer at a home where he’d hoped to drop off a box of food. He was about to give up and head back to his car when the door suddenly opened.
The elderly woman there was so delighted to see him she gave him a huge hug.
He was an answer to a prayer, she told him. She had no food and literally had been on her knees praying for help when he knocked, she said.
“(She told me), Don’t let anyone ever convince you there’s not a God,” Wars said.
Wars, who died this week at the age of 81, embraced that message through a lifetime of volunteer work. Since its inception in 2011, he was the man behind the city of Elgin’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Food Drive, an effort that brought in tons of food for area pantries.
In an interview with The Courier-News in 2017, Wars said he was always overwhelmed by how much food they were able to collect from people in the community.
“The feeling is amazing,” he said. “It makes you so proud of the fact you live in Elgin, and Elgin continues to prove itself to be a great place to live, work and play. (The donations) speak very highly of the people (here).”
Mayor Dave Kaptain said he knew Wars for about 20 years, going back to when Wars served on different city commissions.
“It’s really a loss for the city because he helped everybody,” Kaptain said. “(Wars) was a good soul. He was a good man.”
Jeanette Wars, who met her husband while the two were students at Virginia State University, said they were married for 59 years. He’ll be remembered for being the “generous and
jovial person he was,” she said.
But his legacy will be his volunteer efforts, said Stephanie Wars-Williams, the couple’s only child.
In addition to organizing the annual MLK Day food drive, Wars was a member of the Elgin Jaycees Club, served on the Elgin Boys and Girls Club Board and the Elgin Image Advisory Commission and was named honorary chairman of the 2023 Crop Walk, his daughter said.
“He was always doing something. I’ve tried to carry on some of that myself and be involved in some things, but I have big shoes to fill,” Wars-Williams said.
Born and raised in Virginia, Wars came to the Chicago area because of a job transfer in 1976. After spending a day in Elgin for work, he decided it was a great town, Wars said in an interview for Gail Borden Public Library’s “Open Book: Black Excellence” series in 2022, which celebrated the achievements of the city’s black residents.
His family was happy living here, Wars said in the interview. “Elgin is a great community,” he said.
When asked his definition of excellence, Wars said he believed it means to do the best you can do.
“If people are seeing you do your very best, hopefully
you will influence others to do better in life,” he said. “Do the best you can to make the world a better place.”
Wars did influence many people, according Janice Hare, who said she was one of them. She worked with him on Elgin’s MLK planning committee and in the 35 years she knew him, she said, he was always a community leader, organizer and advocate for families.
From a personal standpoint, Hare recalled all the support he offered when she was going through cancer treatment.
“I said, ‘I can’t do this, Joe.’ He said, ‘God got you. Trust God,’ ” she said. “(He) always leaned on and depended on the word of God.”
They were already planning the 2024 MLK Food Drive before his death, she said. He’d set a goal of collecting 50 tons of food, Hare said, and she’s going to make sure they do it.
“We’re going to achieve that goal. He had a vision that we could do this, and we aren’t going to let him down,” she said.
Information about funeral services wasn’t available as of Friday. Laird Funeral Home in Elgin is handling the arrangements.