Margaret J. Wanda

Margaret “Marge” Joan Wanda, nee Solarski, age 97, of Brookfield. Beloved wife of the late John Wanda Jr.; loving mother of Elise A. (the late Deacon Michael) Crowell, Julie H. Wanda, Rev. Michael J. Wanda, and the late Steven G. Wanda; dear grandmother of Alex Crowell and Emily (Cale) Scott; loving sister of the late Andrew (the late Marie) Solarski and the late Lawrence (the late Marie) Solarski; aunt of many nieces and nephews and great aunt of many more.

Margaret was the youngest child with two older brothers. When her grandmother held her for the first time, she remarked, “What a little ‘lalka’,” and the name stuck. Lalka means doll in Polish, and from that day forward until the day she died, she was known as “Lal” in the family. She outlived her siblings and siblings-in-law, her husband, her youngest child, her son-in-law, most of her cousins, six nephews, and three nieces/nephews-in-law. “Aunt Lal” was the last aunt or uncle left on both the Solarski and Wanda sides of the family and was revered as a matriarch.

To what can her longevity be attributed? Most likely it was a combination of good genes and recent decades of healthy eating. Without fail six days a week she had a croissant or a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast and a sizable salad for her main meal mid-afternoon. The salad consisted of spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, walnuts, dried cranberries, and sometimes chicken, topped with Marie’s poppyseed dressing. Then each evening before bed she enjoyed cookies and a shot of Scotch. The effectiveness of her routine can’t be denied. Until her most recent fall, she had never been in the hospital once in her life other than giving birth to her four children.

Born in Chicago, she attended both St. Gall and St. Rita Catholic churches. She was a long time parishioner, (60 years!) at St. Barbara Catholic Church in Brookfield.

She was a student at Sawyer Elementary School and Gage Park High School. She graduated from Fox Business College, where she made several lifelong friends. She was employed as a secretary for United Airlines in their executive offices at Midway Airport and in the Loop. In later years when she returned to the workforce, she was an executive secretary in the visual merchandising department for Sears in their corporate offices at the Sears Tower. Her skill set was highly valued, because in the era prior to computers, she could type 90 words per minute on a manual typewriter.

In the years between those two jobs, she devoted her time to raising her children, frequently packing up the household for moves from Chicago to Cleveland to Pittsburgh to Carmel, California, and back to Chicago again, due to her husband’s job transfers with the FBI. She always prepared the best home cooked meals, and she was an excellent baker. Her family remembers her famous meatloaf, wagon wheel casserole, Sunday dinners, and authentic Polish food every Easter, including a lamb cake with her special homemade frosting.

She loved Carmel, California, and returned there for yearly vacations over many decades of her adult life. She also enjoyed traveling to Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Paris, and London. She loved reading mysteries and spending time with her grandchildren. She was a talented seamstress and taught herself how to cross-stitch, producing dozens of final projects. Often, she did not even use a pattern. She would look at photographs of favorite California scenes and create her own patterns to duplicate the photos perfectly. As a classy lady, she never left the house on special occasions without wearing Chanel No. 5.

The Wanda household was a feline friendly house, and Lal had many fur babies—Tabby, Spooky, Wolf, Sylvester, and two litters of Tabby’s kittens. But she had a soft spot in her heart for dogs too, having grown up with three dogs as a child, in addition to three grand-dogs as an adult.

Margaret/Marge/Lal will remain in the hearts of so many friends, neighbors, and family members.

Visitation Monday, October 26, 2026 from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M. at Hitzeman Funeral Home, Ltd. 9445 31st Street, Brookfield, IL 60513. Visitation Tuesday, October 27, 2026 from 10 A.M. to time of Mass 11 A.M. St. Barbara Church, 4000 Prairie Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513.

Interment Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.

Memorials appreciated to Cat Nap From The Heart, 1101 Beach Ave, La Grange Park, IL 60526 or the Priests' Health and Retirement/PRMAA, 1400 S. Wolf Road, Bldg 3, Flr 2, Hillside, 60162.

Information 708-485-2000 or www.HitzemanFuneral.com

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