Remembering Sue Varon Spector, A Pioneer In Illinois Hockey
By Ross Forman
The legacy of local hockey pioneer Sue Varon Spector continues with the newly named Sue Varon Spector Award Girls Coach of the Year, presented by AHAI during the Girls High School State Championship game.
“I think it’s wonderful. She would be beside herself that (AHAI) was honoring her,” said Mike Spector, her longtime husband. “In her hockey circles, she touched so many people because she wanted to help people pursue their dreams; that was her drive.
“Sue loved hockey, period. That was our sport together. We met at the rink (when) we both were rink guards. When I first met her, she was going to school at Northeastern (University), I was a junior in high school. We both grew up going to (Chicago) Blackhawk games. My grandparents had season tickets; her dad had season tickets.
Hockey was everything to us. Thank God for the Skokie Skatium that we had a place to go; that’s where we met.
“We enjoyed all sports together, especially hockey.”
Mike and Sue were dating in the mid-1970s while she was at the University of Illinois and he attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. “In 1978, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma; they found a tumor in her neck after having symptoms of fatigue and more. That’s where it all started.”
She battled for years, enduring chemotherapy and radiation. “Throughout life, she had different illnesses, including breast cancer and (having) her spleen removed because cancer was in her spleen. But still, she was a fighter; she would never give in to any of it,” he said.
As the years passed, her health issues caught up with her. And though she could not have children, they adopted a son and a daughter, Shane and Haley, respectively.
“It was a wonderful life,” Mike said. “But, later in life, her heart and lungs proved to not work in tandem, so she suffered.”
About two and a half years ago, she had valve replacement. After the procedure, she was in the hospital for 75 days. Her oncologist ultimately saved her life, Mike said. But over the next two years, she struggled, losing weight and more.
Still, “we battled through,” he said.
Sue went in for multiple procedures last January and “things went downhill,” he said. Sue passed away less than two weeks later.
There were tears at rinks around Illinois for a beloved pioneer to the local game.
“Sue Varon Spector was a true pioneer for girls’ hockey in Illinois,” said Jim Smith, former president of USA Hockey. “In the 1970s, she became the first person in the state to start an all-girls hockey program, called the Shooting Stars. For more than 40 years she helped grow opportunities for girls and women in the sport. Her decades of coaching and work with the Skokie hockey program made a lasting difference. The opportunities Sue helped create—and her impact on the game—lives on in every girl who gets the chance to play.”
Former AHAI president Norm Spiegel has fond, loving, truly personal memories of Spector, dating back decades to her time as the hockey director at the Skokie Skatium. “We had girls from 6 years old to 16 years old. Any girl with skates was welcome and it took all of them to make up a team (as) there weren’t a lot of girls playing at that time,” Spiegel said. “We had girls from every club in the North Shore area and beyond. Sarah Tueting from Winnetka was our first goalie. My daughter, along with several other Skokie girls, also played (for) the Shooting Stars, a team name that Sue picked for the team. They wore light purple jerseys with the Shooting Stars logo. Sue arranged for games against any team that would play us. Many teams were reluctant because they didn’t want to take a chance on losing to an all-girls team.
“It was a great experience for all of us.”
Spiegel added: “Eventually, more girls took up the sport and if you look at the numbers today, you have to appreciate what Sue started.
“I personally enjoyed Sue’s friendship for years. She was always a trusted advisor during my (years) as president of the Skokie Amateur Hockey Association. Both Sue and Mike were huge contributors to the Skokie hockey experience.”
Sue passed away January 14, 2026, with her loving husband, her two sisters and their two children bedside.
Sue helped hundreds and hundreds of Skokie skaters, running its hockey program and its adult league. She ultimately passed the Skokie hockey program to Steve Glickman and later taught skating in Highland Park and Winnetka.
The Spectors were longtime Buffalo Grove residents, and she taught physical education in Deerfield and Buffalo Grove. Sue also coached cross-country and volleyball at the middle school level.
“Sue Varon Spector was a pioneer in Illinois hockey, recognized as a trailblazer for women’s hockey and the first female hockey official,” said longtime local on-ice official and former IHOA board member Jack Raslawski. “She was genuine and always greeted you with a smile and hug. She also was a supporter of all disciplines of disabled hockey. She will always have a special place in my heart.”
Sue was long associated with the American Hearing-Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA) – as an administrator, newsletter writer and more. “She loved (AHIHA),” Mike said.
Here are the Sue Varon Spector Learn To Skate Rules, which Mike Spector said are, “the clutch pointers that guided us, and continue to guide us.”
1. Don’t start too early. Think of how big the rink looks to a little kid. Bring them to watch a few times – and leave the skates at home. Wait until they’re at the glass wanting to get out there. They have to be ready and they have to want it.
2. Once they are on the ice, start with balance. Baby steps. Have them march with their arms out; let them do the work.
3. Having fun is the important part. If the kids want to take a break or call it a day, take the break or call it a day. At a young age, you don’t want them to have a bad experience and not want to keep trying.