Wannemacher, Patricia "Pat"
“Bloomington-Normal and McLean County have been good to Pat Wannemacher, so I just wanted to give a little back and will continue to do so.”
Patricia Wannemacher was a woman ahead of her time, defying gender barriers as an entrepreneur and community leader. The lifelong Bloomington resident owned and operated Wannemacher Electric with her husband, Jerry, for 35 years (a business they started out of their home in 1961). She was the first-ever female president of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984) and served on the Chamber board for many years. She was also elected to the McLean County Board, serving from 1972 to 1980. She co-founded the McLean County Economic Development Council and was a charter member of the Illinois Association of Women Contractors and Entrepreneurs (and is a past president). She was also president of the United Private Industry Council, was active for many years with the McLean County Electrical Contractors Association, and chairwoman of the McLean County 21st Century Committee.
Pat (as she was known to most) was born in Bloomington on March 17, 1931, the daughter of William and Louise (Erhmantraut) O’Neil. She graduated from Central Catholic High School and two years later married Louise J. “Jerry” Wannemacher in 1951. The couple had four children: Steve, John, Jo Ann, and Karn.
Despite widespread discriminatory practices that were common in the construction industry during the 1960s and 1970s, Pat carved out a successful career as a contractor. Pat stated that when she got into the electrical business with her husband, she was going to do temporary bookkeeping to save month. “I knew absolutely nothing about the trade, except that my husband had been an electrician for 11 years and so I learned through association.” She was just as comfortable working on a construction site as she was leading a boardroom meeting or at home raising her four children. She was the only certified female contractor in Illinois for many years, earning her minority contractor certificate from the state of Illinois. She wanted to help others break into the field, so she taught classes to show women and minorities how to be contractors.
In 1987, she was given the Illinois Department of Transportation’s “Most Outstanding Woman-Owned Business Enterprise” award and in 1989, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded her a special commendation.
Pat’s love of her community extended to her youngest neighbors. In 1982, she was one of the founders of the annual Children’s Christmas Party for the Unemployed and Underprivileged, ensuring no child went without a gift each holiday season. She served as co-chair of the annual event for the better part of a decade. She was also a life member of the BroMenn Service League.
Pat was among the first class of honorees for the YWCA’s “Women of Distinction” awards, and she was an honorary member of Laborers International Union of North America Local 362. She credited part of her professional success to her longtime relationship with local laborers and union leaders who helped her fight discrimination on the work site. Pat was posthumously honored as a History Maker by the McLean County Museum of History in 2014.
During the 98th General Assembly, the Illinois Senate passed a resolution honoring her career and mourning her death on December 24, 2013.