To get a picture of the impact Carol A. Shields had on the City of Pekin, one needs only to look at the comments on a Facebook post from the Pekin Police Department on Sept. 29, 2023.

“What a wonderful tribute to a great woman,” one comment said, referring to the honorary designation of the Veteran’s Drive corridor as Carol A. Shields Memorial Drive.

“I am so proud of what she did for this community,” said another.

A third person said simply, “Carol was a beautiful soul.”

Carol Shields passed away in 2021, but her nearly five decades of tireless leadership and commitment can still be seen across this community. The naming of the busy thoroughfare that she was instrumental in bringing to fruition is perhaps her most visible and lasting legacy.

“Carol was one of the main people to get that road built,” said Harland Shields, Carol’s husband of 60 years.

Pekin City Manager John Dossey called honoring Carol Shields in this way “a no brainer.”

“It was the least we could do to recognize her for planting the seeds for all of the development in that part of the city.”

It is exhausting to imagine the schedule of this energetic community leader. 

“There wasn’t much that Carol didn’t do,” Harland recalls.

She was the longtime owner of Coldwell-Banker Ott & Griffin Realtors, which had offices in the old Pekin Mall. Through that occupation, she helped scores of Pekin families find a place to call home. She was also a member of the State of Illinois Association of Realtors beginning in 1971 and served as its President in 1996. Carol was also a member and past president of the Pekin Area Association of Realtors, and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Realtors.

From 1996 to 2001, Carol was Executive Director of the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce, the first woman to hold that position. She was a member of the City of Pekin Economic Development Advisory Committee, the City of Pekin Human Rights Advisory Board, and the Pekin First Committee. Many remember her as the longtime emcee for Puttin’ on Pekin breakfasts.

“She was always very busy, and sometimes I didn’t see her a lot, but she loved every minute of it,” Harland said.

When she first came to Pekin in 1969, Carol signed up as a Cub Scout den mother, and later served on the boards of the United Way, Advanced Medical Transport, Commerce Bank, Pekin Hospital, and the Pekin Hospital Foundation. She was a member of the Kiwanis, SCORE, and a trustee for Cincinnati Township. For many Pekin Fourth of July celebrations, Carol was responsible for the fireworks.

Carol’s passion for the people of Pekin made her the choice for Grand Marshall of the Pekin Marigold Festival in 2004. Harland said she considered it one of her greatest honors.

About a month after she passed away in 2021, the City of Pekin declared her an “Exemplary Citizen” and designated Feb. 22, 2021, as Carol A. Shields Day.

Carol and Harland moved from Iowa to Pekin in 1969. At the time, he was a regional manager for a meat packing company, and she found work as a radiological technician. According to Harland, when a local realtor offered to pay her way to learn about buying and selling real estate, she “jumped in with both feet.”

The young couple didn’t know anyone when they first arrived, but it did not take long for Carol to make friends. In no time at all she was deeply involved in making Pekin a better place to live.

Harland attributes his wife’s success to her natural ability to connect with people and build relationships. “She could get people to do things in a nice way. I never ran into anyone who didn’t like Carol.”

Although she was asked to run for elected office on several occasions, Harland said politics was never something Carol wanted to do. “It’s just about the only thing she didn’t do. Everything she did do she was good at.”

The Shields family includes two children who grew up and attended school in Pekin. The oldest, Doug, still lives here, while Dave and his wife, Lori, live and work in Florida. One granddaughter, Katelyn, and her husband Austin, also live in Pekin.

During the summer months, you can find Harland volunteering at the St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry, which he said has given him a greater appreciation and respect for people from all different walks of life. He and his family are excited to see Carol’s devotion to her hometown still making a difference in Pekin.

Harland has collected newspaper stories and other items about his wife that he hopes to have included in the time capsule that is being assembled for Pekin’s Bicentennial Celebration. If included, Central Illinois residents in 2074 — the city’s 250th anniversary — will be reminded that there is a real person connected with the Carol A. Shields Memorial Drive, and how much that person loved her hometown.

“She really enjoyed what she did,” Harland said. “She was a very special lady.”