Before they were married and company partners, Paula Staab Polk and Dennis Polk were dance partners.
At Cathedral Grade School, a 5-year-old Dennis busted out his ideal impersonation of an Irish jig.
That was her initial memory. The 2nd was of the young boy going residence and telling his mother that exact same year he was heading to marry her, Staab Polk recalls.
“all of I can easily think of are the glad times,” she said.
Dennis “Denny” Lee Polk, a prominent regional developer and historic preservationist, died Sunday after a battle along with leukemia. He was 60.
Friends and company partners of Polk said Tuesday they bear in mind him or her as a hard-functioning broker, a natural salesman along with a charismatic personality and a community-minded individual, especially as quickly as it came to downtown Springfield.
“He was a wonderful guy that was enthusiastic concerning this city and tried to be reasonable along with everyone,” regional Realtor John Clark said of his former colleague.
Polk worked in Genuine estate in Springfield for 3 decades, including the majority of just recently as a broker/owner of The Genuine Estate Firm.
He received the Illinois Historic Preservation Award in 1994 for his job in downtown Springfield, including renovations he oversaw at the Booth-Grunendike Mansion, 500 S. Sixth St., and the former Grand Hotel, 109-111 N. Seventh St.
Other buildings Polk either helped build, renovate or owned over the past 3 decades included Jefferson Terrace, 300 W. Jefferson St.; Baylis Medical Building, 747 N. Rutledge St.; Coney Island, 219 S. Fifth St.; and the Staab-Polk Memorial residence in Chatham.
In addition, Polk co-owned the Hilton, now Wyndham, Hotel in downtown Springfield. He additionally owned numerous well-known bars throughout the years, including Biggie’s and Bubba’s, Miss out on Kitty’s, Brewhaus and Floyd’s, according to his obituary.
Staab Polk said her former husband of 32 years was diagnosed along with leukemia in September.
“It came on pretty unexpectedly and pretty strong,” she said. “He fought for his life the past nine months.”
Dennis Polk loved the art of a deal, Staab Polk said, including that he was a tireless worker that could possibly envision points others couldn’t. He was additionally a proud father of four kids and seven grandchildren, she said.
“He had a splendid eye for detail and could possibly walk in to area and configure in his thoughts exactly what could possibly be executed along with it,” Staab Polk said. “He took a bowling alley in Chatham and turned it in to a funeral home.”
Carolin Faulkner, a broker agent at The Genuine Estate Firm along with Polk, said Tuesday he leaves behind a legacy of renovating several older buildings in downtown Springfield.
Page 2 of 2 – She described Polk as being community-minded, a person that loved individuals and a individual you could possibly matter on.
“He was a great steward of the properties he owned,” Faulkner said.
Visitation for Polk will certainly be from 10 a.m. until funeral programs start at 2 p.m. Saturday at Staab Polk Memorial Home.
Cremation rites will certainly be accorded by Cremation programs of Central Illinois. Memorial contributions can easily be gained to: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 954 W. Washington Blvd., Suite 305, Chicago, IL, 60607; www.LLS.org/Illinois; or Pet Protective League, 1001 Taintor Road in Springfield.
— Contact Jason Nevel: 788-1521, jason.nevel@sj-r.com, http://twitter.com/JasonNevelSJR.
