Mary E. Phillips

Mary Phillips of River Forest, died peacefully March 21, 2024 at Rush Medical Center after a brief illness.  Beloved daughter of the late Walter and Lucille; dear sister of Luanne (the late Douglas) Peterson and Margaret (the late J. Thomas) Kenny.  Dearest aunt of Scott Peterson, Craig (Heather) Peterson, Mary (Kevin) Gibbons, Anne Sullivan, Timothy (Jamee) Kenny, and Kevin Kenny.  Cherished great aunt to Joe, Sean, and Colin Sullivan; Clare, Patrick, Timothy, and Eddie Gibbons; Grace, Thomas, Matthew, Ryan, and Owen Peterson; and Hunter, Oliver, and River Kenny. Special aunt and great aunt to Yvonne and Tristan LeBourhis and David, Ainsley and Alec Edstrom. Dear cousin of Jim McGuire and dear neighbor and friend to many. Mary was the owner of the former Mary’s Place restaurant in Oak Park. Prior to owning Mary’s Place, she had worked for more than twenty years in the restaurant industry, both for Stouffer’s Restaurants and Golden Bear Family Restaurants. She was devoted to her faith, her family, and her friends, and was a 66-year member of St. Giles Parish.  Mary loved being with her family and spending time with all her nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews, especially during summers at Lake Geneva, WI.   She also treasured the time she could spend at her condo in Venice, FL. She loved hosting dinners and having parties, and was often the catalyst for many memorable family events. She had a wide variety of friends including her neighbors in Centennial House and Brookwood, her Florida neighbors in Bella Costa, her golf buddies at Country Club Estates, Abbey Springs, and Venice Lakes golf courses, and her former co-workers at Elmcrest Banquets.  She had a generous nature and was always willing to offer help to others. Mary loved golf and achieved the distinction of two holes-in-one in her lifetime. She loved to travel and visited most of the countries in the world.  She was loved by her family and friends and will be missed by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, contributions to St. Giles School in her memory would be appreciated. (St. Giles School, Development Office, 1034 Linden Avenue, Oak Park IL 60302 in memory of Mary Phillips).  Visitation Monday, April 8th 10:00, St. Giles Church, Oak Park; Mass at 11:00am; Interment graveside at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside. Info atwww.zimmermanharnett.com