Tom Mouhelis made his first run for public office in the late 1990s, when commercial interests encroached on his neighborhood on the east side of Wheaton.
Mouhelis went on to serve three terms on Wheaton’s City Council from 2001 to 2013, and he made an unsuccessful bid to be mayor in 2007.
"Tom cared deeply about Wheaton, and while I had the pleasure of serving with him, he always did what he felt was in the best interests of the community and all the citizens," said former Wheaton Mayor C. James Carr.
Mouhelis, 70, died Saturday of complications from pulmonary hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in the west suburb, said his wife, Lois.
Born in Chicago to Greek immigrant parents, Mouhelis grew up on the West Side, near the intersection of Harrison Street and Central Avenue. He paid tuition to attend Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he graduated in 1963. He then attended the University of California at Los Angeles on an athletic scholarship but left the university in 1967 to enlist in the Air Force.
Eventually promoted to the rank of major, Mouhelis served on active duty in the Air Force on two separate occasions for a total of 11 years, and then spent another 19 years as an officer in the Air Force Reserve. He also returned to college and received a bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst College in 1971.
Photo gallery: Newsmakers and celebrities with Chicago ties who died in 2017.
Mouhelis worked for many years in sales and marketing, including with the firms Maxell and Plantronics, his wife said. Later in his career, he served as the executive director of the Wheaton-based nonprofit Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans.
Mouhelis moved to Wheaton in 1974. Some years later, he and his neighbors became irked by several expansion projects in their neighborhood.
Those included what then was known as the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church — now Compass Church — expanding its campus south from Roosevelt Road to Pershing Avenue and then, in 1997, the Williams-Kampp Funeral Home’s successful effort to add an eight-car garage to the rear of its property by rezoning the backyards of two residential properties on Pershing.
"He said, ‘If I’m going to fight these, the only way to change anything is to get involved,’" his wife said. "He said, ‘If I don’t like it, the only thing I can do is run for the council and change things.’"
Those developments — plus the realization that the City Council had overridden recommendations from some of its advisory panels — spurred Mouhelis to run for an at-large seat on Wheaton’s City Council in 1999. He lost but later that year accepted a mayoral appointment to Wheaton’s Housing Commission. He ran again in 2001 for the City Council, defeating incumbent and future DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Linda Davenport for the council’s East District seat.
Photo gallery: Newsmakers and celebrities who died in 2017.
Over the next 12 years, Mouhelis built a reputation on supporting private-sector development in the city’s downtown, being a voice on the City Council for the city’s labor unions and — in a desire to always be accessible to his constituents — encouraging the city’s staff to give residents his home phone number.
Mouhelis also was known for frequently offering support and thanks to any residents who had served in the armed forces.
"Tom was first and foremost an advocate for veterans, and rightfully so," said Wheaton Mayor Mike Gresk. "He was proud of his service record in Vietnam, he regularly wore his uniform to events and parades and he was just so involved with veterans’ rights and the city and making sure that veterans got recognized for the service they did."
Said Carr: "Tom was always respectful and very supportive of any military-related action that came before the council, and I tried to defer to him to give him the opportunity to express on behalf of the council our profound respect and thanks for the military because of his service."
Mouhelis also ran unsuccessfully in a crowded race for Wheaton mayor in 2007.
Former Wheaton City Council member Liz Corry recalled Mouhelis as "a great mentor and a great public servant."
"Tom was my hero," she said. "He lived his life to serve his community, and we were blessed to have him as a member of our community because he really exemplified public service."
In 2012, Mouhelis decided not to seek re-election in 2013, citing some of his wife’s health issues and a desire to travel.
"This is the town that I love, and I’m honored to have served that long," Mouhelis told the Tribune in 2012.
Beyond his professional career and his time on the City Council, Mouhelis enjoyed playing polo, his wife said.
A first marriage ended in divorce. Mouhelis is also survived by a sister, Georgia Koutavas.
A visitation is set for 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road in Wheaton. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, 525 Church Road, Elgin.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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