Audrey R. Kerbs, nee Meduna, age 88 of Burr Ridge, formerly of Brookfield. Beloved wife of Donald Strysick and the late Howard K. Kerbs; dear mother of Kathryn L. (John D.) Fulton and Margaret (Leo J. “Bud”) Symowicz; fond grandmother of Audrey R. Symowicz and Leo J. Symowicz, lll; sister of the late Eleanor Protz and Dorothy Putz; aunt of many nieces and nephews. Visitation Sunday, January 5, 2014, 2 P.M. to 8 P.M. and Monday, January 6, 2014, 10:30 A.M. to 11 A.M. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, Ltd., 9445 West 31st Street, Brookfield, IL. Funeral Monday 11 A.M. Interment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Long time member of the LaGrange Women’s Club. Memorials appreciated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Information 708-485-2000 or www.HitzemanFuneral.com
Print Obituary & Condolences
Offer Condolence for the family of Audrey R. Kerbs, nee Meduna
The Wrobel Family offers our condolences on the passing of a wonderful lady and beautiful neighbor. She always had a warm smile on her face.
My thoughts have been with Kathy and Margi ever since I’ve learned about Audrey’s passing from Margi, and would like to share some memories.
Audrey was amazing! She was par of my life for as long as I can remember even sharing the classroom when I was in the first grade and she and my brother,Jimmy, were starting the second grade. Audrey’s family was visiting our home on the Labor Day weekend that Mom gave birth to my sister, Doris, and Audrey’s mother decided to stay and help my mother. Audrey’s older sisters drove home again with their father so they wouldn’t miss school.
When our family visited Berwyn in the summer when I was young, we frequently slept in the attic. Audrey told us stories as we were settling in to sleep. The stories were fascinating and scary, though they always finished with a happy ending. We also spent a day at Riverview Park, usually on “2-cent-day”, when many of the rides cost only 2 cents. Each of the children were given 50 cents to wander around and enjoy the rides while our mothers relaxed at a picnic table, and set up lunch for us. It was a fun day!
After I became an RN, I worked at the U. of Chicago hospital for about a year. During that time I frequently visited the relatives in Berwyn. As I recall, Audrey worked for a telephone company then but was a seamstress in her spare time. She made a gorgeous “dressy dress” for me that was an original, and that I enjoyed for years. During that year we also spent time wandering around Chicago, and went to the dance halls a couple of times, taking the elevated train to get there and home again. A job in Minneapolis moved me from Chicago. I loved the new job but missed all of my relatives, especially Audrey.
Through the years, Audrey and I continued to be in touch by mail, phone, and occasional visits. The last time I stopped in Chicago on my way to Guttenberg, Iowa, for a high school reunion. I stayed overnight in the William Tell Hotel, and Audrey got the cousins together so we could share lunch and memories before I moved along.
The hotel gave us a room to ourselves, and we had a marvelous time together. Afterwards, Audrey invited everyone to her place for dessert, but I declined because of the miles I still had to drive to reach Iowa that evening.
During the past few years, Aludrey and I connected fairly frequently by phone and recently shared many childhood memories that stirred much laughter.
Audrey was a very special person, who remained consistently upbeat despite the challenges in her life. I shall miss her…and will look forward to connecting with her again when I join her in her “new life”.
My deepest condolences on the passing of a very classy lady.It was a true pleasure to have her as a co-worker. Keeping your family in prayer.
Our deepest sympathy to your family. Remembering Aunt Audrey with fondness. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
Audrey is one of those unforgettable people, who if we are lucky enough to cross paths with in this life,are better off because of it.
I have known Audrey my entire life. Her connection with my family began, as I have been told, with Audrey and a group of “girls,” my mother included, who worked together at the telephone company during World War II. When the war ended and the men came home, they all got married. The husbands hit it off together as well as the wives, and so “The Club” was born. Each month for over 30 years, they took turns hosting a social gathering at each other’s homes. Soon, the couples became families, and we kids got in on the fun. We had weekly picnics at the South Wilmington Sportsman’s Club each summer where Audrey always had a delicious homemade dessert to contribute. My sister and I played and swam with Audrey’s daughters Kathy and Margi. We spent several family vacations together.
Audrey always took a personal interest in us that carried on into our adult lives. We had moms, but she was like another “mom” to us.
Audrey dealt with many health challenges in her life, but she met those challenges optimistically and courageously,always moving forward with her plans. She set an example of how to live life to the fullest each day and to take life’s setbacks in stride.
Audrey was loved and admired by many. She will be remembered by those of us whose lives she enriched.
Kathy and Margie,
What a wonderful woman your Mom was! I don’t ever remember her without a smile on her beautiful face. A cancer survivor when they didn’t know how to fix it! She is my “sister” too, as a woman who worked at “the phone company”. She has many friends and family waiting and greeting her in heaven. One day we will join them, but for now, we mourn her passing. So sorry, and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Kathy