The Robert J. and Mary Jayne Pooley Endowment Fund was created by the couple’s family and friends at the time of Mary Jayne’s passing.
The fund provides scholarships to students entering the field of nursing.
Robert J. Pooley, Sr. (1928-2016) was a lifelong resident of Aurora. He attended St. Mary Grade School and East Aurora High School.
He was a graduate of Iowa State University where he received a degree in general engineering.
After college, Mr. Pooley returned to Aurora and joined his father to form Leon B. Pooley and Son Builders (later Robert J. Pooley, Inc.), a company that constructed single family homes in the Aurora area for thirty years. He also was a member of the Illinois Realtors Association.
Mary Jayne Pooley (1936-2011) was born in Hannibal, Missouri. At the age of nine, her family moved to Aurora. She was a graduate of Madonna High School and St. Joseph School of Nursing, both in Aurora. She reentered the workforce in 1982 as a nurse and addictions counselor. Before her retirement in 2007, she worked for twenty-two years at the Community Counseling Center in Aurora.
In 1957, Mr. and Mrs. Pooley were married at Holy Angels Church. They made their home in Aurora, raising six children.
