Rockport – Cynthia Jean Bade passed away on December 4, 2024. She was 77.

Cynthia was born in Decatur, Illinois on August 13, 1947 to Dorothy (Willets) and Kenneth Haskell. Cynthia Bade (Novak) was, first and foremost, a political trailblazer for over 50 years, actively engaged in local and national politics and offering her volunteer services for election night network correspondence as well as actively participating in the push for progress and her tireless crusade for Equal Rights for women and the working class. She grew up in Latham, IL and went to college at Eastern Illinois University. She started her career as a teacher in Paris, IL, later Elgin, and eventually Bourbonnais, IL from the early 1970s to the late 1980s teaching Ancient European Civilization studies and later on, physical education. She was deeply involved in the National Organization for Women, and directed the League of Women Voters organization for Kankakee County. 

She met and married Don Bade and started a floral business based in Momence, IL that flourished from the late 1980s into the mid-2010s as one of the first established dealers in the network of Chicago Farmer's markets, all while maintaining her magically alluring home gardens.

She was a natural leader, magnetic and inspirational to anyone she met, and her actions and kindness made her loved and unforgettable to her always-expanding large group of friends that she valued so much. She loved to travel the world and instilled that sense of adventure in anyone she talked to, encouraging you to explore new places and always veer off the beaten path to the real treasures of discovery that lie outside the eye of common knowledge. 

She embraced art, creativity, and justice, and her spirit was unconquerable in the face of adversity, and anyone that knew her understood what a true force of nature she really was. 

She was stubborn, she was impressive, and she was a true original. She made her mark on this world in a big way, and she will be deeply missed.

Guestbook available online at www.resthavenfunerals.com

Arrangements and care entrusted to Resthaven Funeral Home, Aransas Pass.