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Donna DALLAGER

Female 1924 - 2016  (92 years)


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  • Name Donna DALLAGER 
    Birth 18 Aug 1924  Cook County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Death 26 Oct 2016  Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Donna Delaney passed away peacefully in the company of her family on October 26th. She was the beloved wife of the late Gene Delaney; loving mother of Dan (Kathy), Dick (Millie), Chris (Anne), Kathy Delaney (Bill Saunders and son Craig), Terry and Tom Delaney; dear grandmother of Dan, Walt, Annie (Dave) Porter, Miles (Katie), Ryan (Suzie), Lexie, Lauren, Matt, Meaghan, Jenny, Kevin and Mike; great granddaughter Addie. 

      Donna was born in Chicago to Dr. Roy A. and Catherine B. Dallager (née Seery) and raised in South Shore, first on Euclid then on Bennett Ave. One of the high points of her early years, and the source of many stories, was spending time during the summer at the cottage her father Roy built by himself in Momence, Illinois down by the wild Rock River. This was the site of endless pranks by her brother Dick (aka The Big Dealer, Uncle Tully, Old Gus), whom she loved dearly in spite of, or perhaps because of, his constant kidding of her. 

      Her parish and grammar school was Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. Here began a lifelong friendship with Monsignor Ignatius McDermott, MSW (“Father Mac”), a young assistant pastor who later dedicated his life initiating trail-blazing programs for those fighting addiction. Fr. Mac provided important support and consolation at two key times in Donna’s life - when her father died unexpectedly after surgery and again 51 years later during the final days of her husband Gene. 

      After four years at Aquinas Dominican H.S., she attended Barat College and then Mundelein College for nearly a year, but college was not her cup of tea. It was back to beloved South Shore and work in the city at the offices of Peabody Coal Co. 

      Donna delighted in telling her kids of the time during her courtship with Gene when he was picked up by Chicago police while he waited for her to return home in his father’s black Buick. Turns out that idling a black Buick down the block from the home of reputed Chicago Outfit racketeer Murray “The Camel” Humphreys was not the ideal way to begin a date. However, the incident did not deter Gene and they were married in May of 1949. 

      After early years in their garden apartment in Chatham, Donna and Gene, with 4 kids in tow, moved to their first house in La Grange, spending 10 years raising a growing family and meeting lifelong friends like Lou & Otto Molidor. A family can be thought of as the sum of its stories and the years in LaGrange provided hundreds, which were told and re-told amidst laughter throughout the years, right up to her last days. It doesn’t get any better than that. 

      After 2 years in Connecticut, Donna and Gene returned to the Chicago area and completed raising their family in Northbrook. During these years, Donna was Eucharistic Minister for more than a decade at Our Lady of the Brook and even had a short-lived career in real estate at Lake Bay Realty. It became clear pretty quickly that Donna’s heart was in filling a home with food, joy and fun rather than selling it. 

      One of her longest-lasting achievements was hosting an annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl for 36 years in her Northbrook backyard. Family, school friends and neighbors would take to the field in games where the same plays seemed to be run each year and the games always ended in a tie, thanks to the officiating of Gene Delaney and Jack McCarthy. One year, several players opted to stay for Thanksgiving dinner, which warmed Donna’s heart. 

      That was what Donna cherished the most – her family and happy meals around her well-stocked table. Her family will all miss those meals, but will always remember them.
    Person ID I22578  Don Carlson's Tree
    Last Modified 31 Jan 2023 

    Father Roy Arthur DALLAGER,   b. 30 Jan 1890, Mower County, Minnesota Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Catherine B SEERY,   b. 17 Sep 1894, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Mar 1969, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years) 
    Marriage 11 Aug 1920  Cook County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F16240  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Eugene Francis DELANEY,   b. 1 Mar 1925   d. 19 Nov 2000, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 75 years) 
    Marriage 14 May 1949  Cook County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F16241  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 31 Jan 2023