Downers Grove Magazine | #WeAreDG
We are Downers Grove CATCHING UP WITH STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, WHO GREW UP IN DOWNERS GROVE AND MARRIED INTO A THREE-GENERATION DOWNERS GROVE FAMILY. BY KERRIE KENNEDY PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLINA MENAPACE
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ll in the family. “My mother-in-law, my father-inlaw, my grandparents-in-law, my uncle-in-law, and my husband and I all live in four separate houses but on the same plot of land in Downers Grove. It used to be a dairy farm that my husband’s grandparents—the Johanssons who came here from Sweden— owned. They sold it off but kept a small piece of the land, which is where all of us live. We call it our compound.” Everybody Loves Raymond—without the annoying mother-in-law. “Every day is like one big family reunion here. We see each other every day. People always ask me, ‘are you sure you want to live that close to your in-laws?’ and my answer is ‘yes’! And of course, they always mention Everybody Loves Raymond. It’s a little like that in the sense that we always see each other, but it’s happier than Everybody Loves Raymond. Coming home. My husband and I have been together since we were 15 (we met at Downers Grove High School) so my in-laws are like my second parents. When I found out I was pregnant, we had the opportunity to buy the land from my in-laws, so we decided to build our house here. I work in Wheaton as a forensic behavioral health counselor for the DuPage County Health Department and my husband owns a printing company. We’re both busy, but we always have someone to look after our threeyear-old son. We’re very fortunate to have free babysitters right next door and it’s so nice for our son. Even when we’re home, he always wants to go over and say hi.” And they cook. “My husband I and like to go to Gatto’s for dinner—the penne vodka pasta is a favorite of ours. When we were dating, we’d go to Every Day’s a Sundae a lot, so we keep the tradition going with our son. But we’re lucky, because my grandmother-in-law cooks for us all the time. She’s famous for her strawberry rhubarb pie.” Celebrate good times. When I was pregnant with my son, my husband was on Shark Tank. He ended up getting a deal for his DigiWrap™, which is digitally printed customized tissue paper and gift bags. We threw a huge screening party with friends and of course, family. And no surprise, holidays are amazing here. On Christmas, we have a big progressive party, starting with breakfast at my parents-in-law and then dinner at my grandparents-in-law. We just have to walk a few feet to get to each other’s houses so we don’t have to worry about driving in the snow. ■ If you know a Downers Grove resident who should be featured on this page, email anne@hinsdalemag.com
SHIRLEY JOHANSSON, CARL JOHANSSON RUSSELL WILLIAMS, KAREN WILLIAMS, TOM JOHANSSON, CHARLES WILLIAMS, ADDISON WILLIAMS, STEPHANIE WILLIAMS
