Jill KANAGA

Jill Kanaga Winn

Jill's 2011 Autobiography

Memories must be floating through all our minds, certain images percolating through the years, fading into others, some surprisingly fresh and clear. I have a resume, which, like everyone else's, ticks off the official steps taken since then, but sheds little light on the journey that led me from 1961 to 2011, from high school graduate to senior citizen. Let’s see: Northwestern, New York, Connecticut, San Juan Capistrano then Chicago - I traded the vertical elegance of Manhattan and 11 years in commercials for the sprawling, vibrant city of Chicago, rich in Art Deco, its beautiful lakeshore belonging to everyone, lush forest preserves and a home outside the city, on a pond with heron, ducks and geese. Business intrigued me - it still does and is somehow (ok, somewhat) compatible with painting murals and consignment pieces. Two wonderful children, two delightful grandchildren, my grandson now taller than I. My daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren just 10 minutes away, my son in Chicago. They and my mother, chipper and bright at 93, are still forging, or beginning to find, their own paths and I am continually learning from them, both to lead and, now, to follow. Like every newly minted graduate, I had no idea of the adventure ahead and 50 years later, I’m so glad we have a chance to be together again, to remember who we were – that, and celebrate who we are.