Schaffenegger Family To Present Monetary Gift To Village Board

Longtime Huntley resident Florence T. Conley Schaffenegger bestowed money to the village of Huntley upon her death two years ago.

Schaffenegger, who died at the age of 92 on Nov. 17, 2009, left the village $45,000 and requested it be used for the James C. Dhamer Town Square. Just last month, the village received an additional $139,917 from Schaffenegger’s estate.

Tom Conley, Schaffenegger’s nephew, is expected to make a short presentation on behalf of his family tonight during the regularly scheduled Village Board meeting. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Huntley Municipal Complex, 10987 Main St.

Village leaders do not yet know what the additional money will be used for, said Barbara Read, the village’s management assistant.

Schaffenegger was born on Jan. 16, 1917, in Huntley. She was one of five children raised by Enos and Margaret Conley. The family, who made a living farming, resided at the north end of Woodstock Street, according to village documents.

In 1945, Florence married John Schaffenegger, an attorney and lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. After World War II, the Schaffeneggers purchased the Haligus Country School near Conley Road and remodeled the property into a comfortable home, the documents state.

Eventually the family moved to Wilmette, and John continued to practice law. But, the Schaffeneggers continued their controlling interest in the family farm at the northwest corner of Route 47 and Reed Road.

John Schaffenegger died in September 1986, and Florence sold the farm to Inland Corporation in 1995, the village board documents state.