- Date Of Birth: April 15, 1935
- Date Of Death: September 15, 2020
- State: Illinois
Noreen Elizabeth Lavelle O’Neill, 85, passed away in her home on September 15, 2020 with her family at her side. A lifelong resident of the Chicago area, Noreen was born April 15, 1935 to Catherine and Tom Lavelle. She was the youngest sister of Mary, Tom and Patsy.
Her young life in Chicago’s Chesterfield neighborhood was where she made friends that remain to this day. Nor met Bob O’Neill on a street corner after a dance and he “fell” hard for her when he literally fell under the car! They were married on St. Patrick’s Day 1953. Shortly after their wedding, Bob’s US military service and subsequent return to his college football career made for an unconventional early marriage. Their home on Kimbark in Dolton was where together Nor & Bob raised four children; made lifelong friends; organized and participated in “Holidaze” and the Athletic Board and 100th Anniversary Celebration at St. Mary’s; hosted great parties; talked on the phone a bit; held legendary garage sales; perfected the Johnny Hoosier cake recipe; became the local ‘Fruitcake Lady’; lunched with friends; loved Sunday drives; played cards, but rarely won due to her lack of a poker face; talked on the phone a little more; bought hundreds of purses; and may or may not have put live fish in a neighbor’s washing machine! She loved her sports teams, especially the White Sox, Notre Dame and Mt. Carmel. Nor was happiest when she was gathered with friends and family celebrating her Irish heritage.
In 1994 Noreen’s life took a huge turn when she underwent an experimental life-saving liver transplant. Noreen accepted all the recovery challenges, restrictions and medication, and committed herself to making the most of her new lease on life. She lived 26 years posttransplant, fueled by Diet Rite, and that was a great gift to her family and friends.
Her laughter was infectious and her dry wit was a hallmark of her personality. She always loved to sit and talk to everyone and know what you were up to – that was the reason she was always the last person to leave a party! She prayed for us, she reveled in our successes, comforted us when we suffered, worried about us, laughed with us, made faces at us, was always honest with us and loved all of us fiercely from the moment she met us. We were so lucky that she touched us all with her gift of love.
Noreen is survived by her children and their spouses Ellen and Bill White, Carol and Tom Schultz, Bobby and Karen O’Neill and Julie Anne O’Neill, her eight grandchildren and their spouses Terra and Thomas Fulham, Carolyn and Sean Olis, Patrick and Kayla White, Colleen and Paul Falkenstern, Aidan O’Neill, Olivia Schultz, Erin O’Neill, Claire O’Neill, her granddog Blanco, and her eight great-grandchildren Grace, Catherine, Emory, Paige, Tess, Lavelle, Margaret, and Rosie, as well as her sister-in-law Dorothy Lavelle. ‘Aunt Nor’ had 40 nieces and nephews and 81 great nieces and nephews.
Noreen was preceded in death by her partner in crime Bob in 2014; her parents Catherine and Tom Lavelle, many aunts and uncles in Chicago and Belmullet, Ireland, including Honor Barrett, Jim Lavelle and her siblings and their spouses Mary and Ray Sullivan, Tom Lavelle, and Patsy and Rich Cavoto.
