Ruth M. Cook, 89, Brookfield homemaker
Brookfield resident Ruth M. Cook (nee Sill), 89, died Feb. 1, 2007 at the Lexington of LaGrange.
Born Feb. 17, 1917 in Chicago to Otto Fred and Minnie (nee Musch) Sill, she married Earl W. Cook and raised two daughters.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her daughter, Linda J. (Ron) Hausfeld.
She is survived by her daughter, Ruth P. (William) Langele; her grandchildren, Mark A. Hausfeld and Keith Hausfeld; her great grandson, Mark A. Hausfeld Jr.; and her sisters, Myrtle Schmidt and Alvina Heise.
A funeral service, officiated by the Rev. Penny Taylor, was held Feb. 6 at Trinity Community Church, Berwyn, followed by interment in Oakridge Cemetery, Hillside.
Memorial contributions were appreciated to Trinity Community Church, 7022 Riverside Drive, Berwyn, Ill. 60402 or Shriners Hospital for Children, 2211 N. Oak Park Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60635.
Hitzeman Funeral Home, Brookfield, handled arrangements.
Laura M. Gawron, 90, Brookfield resident
Laura M. Gawron, 90, a resident of Brookfield and former resident of Berwyn, died Jan. 23, 2007 at the British Home in Brookfield.
Born Feb. 27, 1916 in Chicago to Anton and Sophia (nee Bozek) Gawron, she worked as an inspector for a communications company.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Adolph F. (the late Felicia) Gawron, John (the late Anna) Gawron and William (the late Dolores) Gawron; and her sister, Marie (the late James) Jaros. She is survived by many nieces, nephews and friends.
A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 27 at St. Louise de Marillac Church in LaGrange Park, followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.
Hitzeman Funeral Home, Brookfield, handled arrangements.
Loretta L. Scott, 78, Office manager
Loretta L. “Laurie” Scott (nee Penksa), 78, a resident of Broadview and a former resident of Brookfield, died Feb. 3, 2007 at her home.
Born in Chicago on Dec. 9, 1928 to Leon and Marie (nee Ptak) Penksa, she married Richard W. “Red” Scott and raised nine children. She worked as an office manager.
She is survived by her husband of 56 years; her daughters, Judith (Mark) Steinbrecher, Tammy (Alan) Kwit, Barbara (Mark) Spakausky and Jill (Frank) Trainer; her sons, Scott (Linda) Scott, Jeffrey Scott, David Scott and Shawn (DeAnn) Scott; 13 grandchildren, Megan Engelbreit, John Engelbreit, Lauren Spakausky, Hunter Spakausky, Gelsey Steinbrecher, Hannah Steinbrecher, Mark Steinbrecher, Brian Scott, Amanda Scott, Colton Kwit, Cooper Kwit, Jason Scott and Brooke Scott; two great grandchildren, Dylan Marx and Skylee Marx; her brother-in-law, Gordon (Marian) Scott; and many cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Richard “Ricky” W. Scott II; her brother, Joseph (Mary) Penksa; and her sister-in-law Orlie Scott (Doug Massette).
A funeral Mass, officiated by the Rev. Paul Zemczak, was celebrated Feb. 6 at St. Louise de Marillac Church in LaGrange Park, followed by interment at Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.
Memorial contributions were appreciated to the LOSS Program of Catholic Charities, 721 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, Ill. 60610.
Hitzeman Funeral Home, Brookfield, handled arrangements.
Gladys “Lea” Stahnke, 62, Newspaper distributor
North Riverside resident Gladys “Lea” Stahnke (nee Barnes), 62, died Jan. 28, 2007 in her home of Parkinson’s disease.
Ms. Stahnke, a 43-year resident of North Riverside, was dedicated to her job as a newspaper distributor for Forest News Agency and enjoyed working as a Cook County election judge. Her many activities included cooking, baking, interior decorating, crafts, sewing, aerobics, line dancing, gardening, traveling and attending car shows with her husband.
The thing she enjoyed most in life was spending time with her family, friends and neighbors. Most of all, she enjoyed playing with her grandsons. She lived a courageous life and never let her disease get the best of her. She will be missed tremendously.
She was the loving wife of Trent Stahnke; beloved daughter-in-law of Dilys (the late Jack) Stahnke; devoted mother of Sherri Stahnke and Dean (Paula) Stahnke; dear sister of Russ (Kaew) Barnes, Bob (Corky) Barnes, Joe (Joanne) Barnes, Jim (Linda) Barnes and Pati (Tom) Youts; fond sister-in-law of Diane (Dick) Kalla; cherished grandmother of Will and Alex Stahnke. Many nieces, nephews and cousins will also mourn her passing.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 at The Riverside Presbyterian Church, 116 Barrypoint Road, Riverside.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name are appreciated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, N.Y. 10163 or www.michaeljfox.org.
Arrangements were handled by Ivins Funeral Home, Riverside.