Ann Lightfoot, who served on Massillon school board and mentored many, dies at 95

MASSILLON – Ann Lightfoot was a longtime friend, neighbor and mentor to many over her time living in the city.

She was a mother of four children, including Lori Lightfoot who would become mayor of Chicago, as well as an active community volunteer, former school board member and health worker. She died Tuesday at age 95.

"Ann was a kind and giving lady. She helped care for my mom (Laura Ferrero)," recalled friend and neighbor Grace McGraner, who for years lived about a block from Lightfoot along Main Avenue W.

Lightfoot spent the bulk of her professional career as a nurse's aide and health care worker.

"She would help anyone out, always," said McGraner, a deputy clerk at the Massillon Clerk of Court office.

Over the years, Lightfoot served in multiple volunteer, appointed and elected roles, which included the Massillon Board of Education.

In a February 2017 interview with The Independent, Lightfoot said she believed that she was the first Black person to serve on the school board, which she called a breakthrough for the 1970s.

"I think many times before the ceiling is cracked, a lot of people said they were not going to try," Lightfoot said at the time. "Someone had to break that ice."

Family ties: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls mother, Ann, 'My role model, my champion'

Ann Lightfoot was advocate for child education, active in her church

Lightfoot was a champion for children's education and was an active, longtime member of St. James AME Zion Church in southwest Massillon, where she served on the Missionary Society and as a class leader, as well as other roles.

"She was a great mentor to me, and a faithful follower of God," said Diane Rolland, clerk of Massillon City Council, who had known Lightfoot for more than 60 years.

Rolland recalled she was a child when she first met Lightfoot at St. James church years ago.

"(Ann) was an elegant woman who always carried herself well," Rolland said. "You wanted to be like her."

According to her obituary, Lightfoot enjoyed cooking large meals for family gatherings, serving at church, watching Massillon Tigers football games, cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Lori Lightfoot served as mayor of Chicago from 2019 to 2023. At age 90, Ann Lightfoot traveled in May 2019 to the Windy City for her daughter's swearing-in ceremony.

"She's my role model, my champion," then-Mayor Lightfoot said about her mother. "The woman whose dreams and high expectations for me propelled me through life."

Visitation hours for Ann Lightfoot are scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. March 1 at St. James AME Zion Church, 209 Second St. SW, Massillon. A funeral service is slated for 11 a.m. March 2 at the church.

Reach Steven at steven.grazier@indeonline.com. On Twitter: @sgrazierINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Ann Lightfoot of Massillon dies at 95