Hail Mary, Queen of Dearborn Park

an entire neighborhood says so long

04/09/2011 7:14 PM

By Bonnie McGrath

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Kenny Brown (Photo by Bonnie McGrath)



Finding one's keys in the basket (Photo by Bonnie McGrath)

It was Kenny Brown, a 26-year-old Navy man, who coined the headline above in a great little speech he gave about long time Dearborn Parker Mary Schoonmaker this afternoon for her friends and family who gathered to remember her at the Chicago Curry House, her favorite neighborhood restaurant. Brown knew Mary Schoonmaker from the streets of Dearborn Park since he was five years old. And he said he always felt safe on the neighborhood streets when Mary was around. We all did. She was a good friend of his mother and grandmother--and everybody else--and when he applied to Maine Maritime, she bought him a hoodie with the school logo even before he got in.


She knew he would--so she had nothing to lose.

Mary was around the neighborhood a lot. After a long career at AT&T, she retired and decided to care for neighborhood pets as a sideline. She walked dogs and babysat with cats. Everyone gave her their key--and even if you didn't have a pet you knew Mary to say hi to and make small talk with--on Plymouth Court and thereabouts. We took her presence for granted.

But we can't anymore.

Mary died recently--and there wasn't a thing about her that neighborhood handywoman and Donahue Building resident Janice Koerber didn't capture in a lovely obit she wrote in last week's Chicago Journal. How everyone's pets loved her. And vice versa. And it was pretty evident at the gathering just how many people cared for her, too--as they chatted and ate Nepalese food from the nice buffet, had a few libations and--so very uniquely--went through a big basket of keys to retrieve the set they let her have for when they needed her dependable service.

The restaurant was packed. Her friendly sisters, Margaret Husa and Anne Stopper, were there from out of town and served as hosts. Ronnie and Irv Jarett, former Printers Row residents who now live in Buffalo Grove, came back to say farewell. There were people from every condo building, townhouse development, single family homeowners association, loft conversion and apartment complex for blocks around. To remember Mary's steadfast presence in our community. She was the one who organized the big Dearborn Park garage sale, the one who took care of the neighborhood's treasured pets, the one who was out in the street with or without a leash in hand, chatting it up with her neighbors.

She was the one who made you feel safe.



2 Comments - Add Your Comment



By Matt Wos from Dearborn Park
Posted: 04/13/2011 7:55 PM

Good work, Bonnie. Mary was great...never had a pet, but always had something to talk about with Mary. Someone who took ownership of and made this neighborhood the special place that it is. She'll be missed.


By Stephen Reginald from South Loop
Posted: 04/11/2011 4:40 PM

I didn't know Mary, but this is a lovely tribute. I sense she will be missed.