Remembering Leon McNair

Leon McNair, inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame last year, died Sunday, July 3, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was 75.

The longtime professional at Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego, for which he was part of the construction crew, fought the disease for which there is as yet no cure valiantly.

A standout at Glenbard West High School and graduate of Southern Illinois, where he was a member of their 1964 NCAA Division II championship golf team, Leon was lured into staying at Fox Bend by architect and construction guru Brent Wadsworth. McNair was at Fox Bend from 1967 until his retirement in 2005.

McNair put Fox Bend on the map with an amateur tournament to show the layout off to the better area players, as well as superior service to build a regular clientele.

He remained active as a member of the board overseeing the First Tee of Aurora and Fox River Valley, and president of Wadsworth Golf Charities. He was Illinois PGA Section president in 1991-92, and the IPGA's Professional of the Year in 1992.

Most recently, he was spearheading Wadsworth's Links Across America initative to boost youth participation in the game.

“The reason we launched Links Across America is, other than a few rare cases, affordable golf for youth does not exist in this country,” McNair said in his Hall of Fame acceptance talk. “The mission was to develop feeder short courses, three-, six- or nine-hole across the country to provide affordable golf, especially for youth, families, adult beginners and individuals with injuries or disabilities."

By last fall, 29 courses had been built in 16 states.

McNair was also honored last fall by the state, which named the portion of Route 34 that runs in front of Fox Bend the Leon McNair Highway.

Memorials may be directed to either The Leon McNair Memorial Fund in care of the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley, 111 W. Downer Place, Aurora, Ill. 60506, or ALS Association of Greater Chicago, 220 W. Huron, Suite 4003, Chicago, Ill. 60654.