ROCHELLE — On Jan. 29, Carol Weidmann of Rochelle passed away at age 77. She leaves behind a legacy of education and theater work in the local community. 

After growing up in Chicago and the suburbs and obtaining her master’s degree from Western Illinois University in English education in theater arts, Weidmann taught at Western’s campus primary school for several years. She then moved to town to work at Rochelle Township High School as an English teacher and director of theater. 

In her time at RTHS, Weidmann was selected to direct the Illinois High School Theater Festival All-State Performance and was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Secondary Education by the Illinois Theater Association. 

Weidmann was one of the founding members of the Vince Carney Community Theatre organization in Rochelle. The original group desired a community theater organization in the area other than for kids in high school. Weidmann directed VCCT’s first production on the floor of the Central Elementary School gymnasium, VCCT Board Member Dianne Jenner said. 

“My daughter was in grade school at the time and I took her to see the show,” Jenner said. “My daughter wanted to join it, and I said sure. We both joined. My daughter was in their next show. From then on, it was just a fun thing I enjoyed doing. I did theater in high school. A lot of it was backstage work, sometimes it was on stage. Carol was always there. She wasn't always directing, but she was the expert we always went to if we had a question. I was thinking the other day about working with her over the years. When we were on stage, we were always trying to pretend to be someone else. But Carol trained us and taught us how to be that person. That was her talent. We all loved her for it.”

Weidmann’s dream for VCCT, besides giving the community art and theater it didn’t have, was developing a home for the organization, Jenner said. She got to see that dream realized in August 2021, when VCCT held its first show at the Lincoln Arts Center, the renovated former Lincoln Elementary School building. 

Before the Lincoln Arts Center, VCCT performed all over town in gymnasiums, taverns, and the now-torn down Hickory Grove facility. The organization worked through COVID-19 to get its new home into performing shape. 

“Thank goodness Carol was healthy enough to see it,” Jenner said. “She was there when it was finished after COVID-19 and we could actually perform in a theater of our own. She got to see it. That just makes my heart feel so good, that she was around when we opened it. She directed "Our Town" as her last show. She always loved that show and people came out and watched it and loved it. She performed in "Four Old Broads" at the first show in the Lincoln Arts Center. Carol, Jane Prunty, myself and Sally Sawicki performed in that as the oldest members of VCCT. It absolutely broke our hearts when we heard that Carol was ill. She'll be in our hearts forever.”

Jenner said that in her experiences with Weidmann, she would spend time doing things like helping actors change costumes backstage as much as she spent time directing.

“She was willing to do everything to get a production up,” Jenner said, “She was a dedicated theater person. When she was directing, we'd have a good time, but Carol was all business. She knew what she wanted and she worked us until she got it. But it wasn't in a way that turned us off. We enjoyed her expertise. That's just the kind of person she was. She could laugh and have a good time with us just as well as she could be a hard-nosed director. She did what she had to do and always got it done well.”