Mary E. Lee (nee Starek), 84, of North Riverside, died on March 6, 2025 in Tinley Park. Born on Aug. 9, 1940 in Chicago, she graduated from DePaul University with an accounting degree, then began an accounting career that eventually led to retirement from the General Services Administration as a budget analyst. A lifelong member of the Czechoslovak Society of America, she served as president and treasurer of the R.T. Crane Lodge #7. She was a longtime library board trustee and secretary of the North Riverside Library Board and served with the Friends of the Library and the Czechoslovak American Congress. A volunteer for Forest Park PADS and Cantata Senior Care, she was an avid flower gardener and loved to shop, cook and entertain.
Mary was the mother of Robert J. (Sherry Miedema) and Colleen M. (Richard) Wiatrowski; the grandmother of Ryan Lee, Daniel (Marina) Wiatrowski and Andrew Wiatrowski; the sister of Carole (Karl Rycheghem) Starek; and the cousin of many.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 1 at 10 a.m. at Mater Christi Church in North Riverside. Inurnment private at Banker Cemetery in Hoxeyville, Michigan.
Memorial donations in Mary’s honor may be made to the North Riverside Public Library.
Funeral arrangements were handled by Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home, North Riverside. Online condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family at www.KuratkoNosek.com.