Longtime Mokena residents and former Little Blossom Early Education owners Jim and Judy Sears have participated in the Mokena Chamber of Commerce Fourth of July Parade for decades.
Usually, Judy drove the preschool’s bus while Jim joined parents and children walking behind, waving and handing out lollipops.
But Thursday, they beamed while riding in a black Ford Mustang convertible during the community’s parade as the grand marshals for 2024.
There were 77 entrants and roughly 8,000 people lined up to watch – some even had their chairs ready on Wednesday in anticipation for the big event.
The Sears family also couldn’t wait for Thursday after being surprised with the grand marshal honor last Friday via a phone call from chamber executive director Melissa Fedora.
“When Melissa called, it was like ‘oh my goodness, this is quite an honor,’” Judy said. “It’s a very humbling experience.”
Fedora said the village appreciates how much the Sears family meant to the area after opening up a school in 1991 and upgrading to it at 19245 Everett Lane.
“It’s so perfect,” Fedora said. “We called them, and they were just so excited. After all these years, it’s nice to give them something back.”
In the past, there was another Independence Day tradition the Sears family cherished.
“After the parade all of our families would come back to the school for a barbecue,” Jim said. “The parents would bring food to share and we would have hot dogs for them. It’s been fun gearing up for that.”
The Sears retired May 31. Kevin Burberry took over the ownership but the Sears have many lasting memories of helping to raise countless children from Mokena, Frankfort, New Lenox, Manhattan, Homer Glen, Tinley Park, Orland Park and Joliet.
The Sears love to prank people who ask them how they met. Jim grew up in Alsip and Judy in Chicago.
“We met in preschool,” Jim always says, and then waits for the reaction.
Preschool?
“Yes, except we were teachers and not children,” he adds.
The Sears were teachers at the Mary Sears Children’s Academy. Mary is Jim’s mother.
Members of the float in the late Aaron Toppen’s honor greet the thousands of parade goers July 4, 2024, in Mokena. (Jeff Vorva/for the Daily Southtown)But the couple wanted their own business and have been a mainstay in Mokena for more than three decades.
Many students have gone through the school including their son, WGN radio news anchor James Sears.
“Some of our own graduates have come back with their own children,” Jim said. “When they come back, they have some successful stories. That’s always great to hear.”
A few drops of rain made an appearance at the start of the parade, turning into light rain and then steady rain, but the parade soldiered on.
Mokena resident Bob Kroll, who said he has been coming to the parade for more than four decades, brought his sons Josh, 12, and Tommy, 10 to watch the pageantry and down their traditional Icee drinks, with blue raspberry being the favorite among the younger Krolls.
Bob’s father, Tony, was a Marine in the Vietnam War and served as a fighter pilot.
“We always do whatever we can to be here,” Bob Kroll said. “I came as a little kid. I moved to Mokena in 1980 with my parents and I’ve pretty much been a resident my entire life here.”
He remembers sitting in the back of a pickup truck in a gravel lot by the VFW when he was growing up and he remarked about how much the town and parade has grown.
Aside from supporting Mokena, Bob Kroll said he wants his sons to know the importance of the Fourth of July and what it stands for.
“Everybody unites and comes together,” he said. “No matter who you are or what you are, everybody becomes a true American at the Mokena parade.
“Everyone loves each other. You see camaraderie and lots of red, white and blue. That’s our country.”
Judy Sears is also big on the community atmosphere of the parade.
“That’s what Mokena is all about — the community,” she said. “We get together as a community and that’s always how we tried to do it at our school — make it a family and community.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
