Stems and Twigs Owner Tish Rothschild Dies 'Suddenly'

Tish Rothschild, who owned and operated in downtown Western Springs for nearly 11 years, died on Sunday night. The cause of death is not yet known.

A sign on the door of Stems and Twigs Monday read that the business was “closed in loving memory of our owner Tish Rothschild” and described her death as “sudden.”

“She was very generous,” said Marcia Sammons, a friend who owns the Chateau Alexis in La Grange. “She always bought things from my antique business when I was starting out, to help me out.”

Rothschild was a former hotel manager and a La Grange resident who purchased the downtown floral shop as a change of pace. In a , she called Western Springs “a bit of small town Americana” and “a nice atmosphere to have a business in.”

She was well-known to her fellow business owners on the 900 block of Burlington Avenue. According to owner Jim Dames, Rothschild (a regular customer and conversationalist) had previously been diagnosed with cancer following a hip surgery, but had been in full remission lately.

“We lost a neighbor; we lost a customer,” Dames said. “It’s sad after all she’s been through… It’s a shock.”

“She was very passionate about what she did,” said Joe Lane, president of the Western Springs Business Association, whose is two doors down from Stems and Twigs. “It’s all so sudden. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Funeral arrangements for Rothschild are pending; more information will be available soon.