Sheila
I have lived in Oak Park over 40 years and joined the Oak Park Commons Cohousing Community in 2019, along with my spouse Sean Taylor. Reluctant at first because I greatly value alone time, I soon realized that with cohousing I can have both privacy and a rich social life. I also look forward to simplifying our life, by reducing the space we now occupy and tossing unneeded, unnecessary stuff.

Born into a large family in the southwest Chicago suburbs, I love the diversity of Oak Park and all it offers. I’m a long-time member of the League of Women Voters local chapter and greatly respect its active leadership.

I try to stay physically active. Currently my fitness routine includes mostly walking, with some boring strength and toning exercises. I’d love new friends to put some fun into this routine!

Sean
Born in Wisconsin, weaned in Maywood, I’m the third generation of my family to live in Oak Park. My wife, Sheila, and I were married, raised a family and owned a business here for over 40 years. One might call this home.

Along the way, I’ve attended school at U of I, Carleton College and U of C. and have lived in Boston, San Francisco, Paris and Memphis. 

As a young man, I lived in an urban commune in Cambridge, MA. I found it to be an intriguing, engaging, trust building experience that rewarded me with some lifetime friendships.

I first read about cohousing in the WSJ 25 years ago and was delighted to find this group working on the creation of a cohousing community here. The evolution of a supportive, engaging, sharing community is very exciting to me. There is still much to be defined, created, solved and resolved about the workings of our community, but the thought of working with sincere people toward that end is invigorating.