Memorial services for Northern Illinois University’s tenth president and his wife will be held Friday, Oct. 16 in North Carolina.
John La Tourette served as NIU President from 1986 to 2000. He died at the age of 92 on September 27th. His wife of 69 years, Lili, died at the age of 93 on October 6th. A joint memorial service for the La Tourettes will be held Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina. They’ll be buried in the La Tourette family plot in New Jersey, where six generations of his family lie.
John La Tourette spent 40 years in higher education, following a stint in the military. He came to NIU in 1979 as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
He established the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology while at NIU. He also added more than a dozen major academic offerings, including Ph.D. programs in physics, mathematical sciences, and biological sciences. The physics and chemistry building at NIU was named after La Tourette in 2010.