Services
Obituary
Marilyn Weisbrodt, nee Long, age 73 of LaGrange Park. Beloved mother of Dana (Stefan Litavec) Weisbrodt; dear sister of Ronald (Martha “Marty” Van Ness) Long and Michael (Darlene) Long; loving daughter of the late Joseph Long and Eleanor Long, nee Smarkala; aunt of many nieces and nephews; friend of many.
Marilyn Jane Long was born July 5th, 1951 at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, IL to Joseph and Eleanor Long. She attended St. Blase Catholic School. Joseph passed away suddenly in 1961, and his death left an indelible mark on his daughter’s life. Marilyn graduated from Argo High School in 1969 and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in teaching from the University of Southern Illinois. When employment in teaching was difficult to secure, Marilyn worked as a secretary at the Veteran Affairs Hospital and then in banking, where she was encouraged to pursue a paralegal certification. With this achieved, she began a career in banking, where she met and married John Weisbrodt in 1980. Marilyn and John lived in Davenport for a couple years before returning to the southwest suburbs of Chicago and purchasing a home in La Grange Park. In this home they welcomed their daughter, Dana Weisbrodt in 1990. Marilyn worked for Traveler’s Insurance and then Bank of America as a commercial real estate lender and a manager. In 1997, Marilyn and John separated and then divorced. In 1998, Marilyn’s mother, Eleanor, came to live with her and Dana; the three of them shared the many joys and heartbreaks of all stages of life together, simultaneously moving through adolescence, middle age, and golden senior years. In 2006, Eleanor left the home to receive the care she needed at a nursing home. In 2009, Marilyn was diagnosed with the bladder cancer that would eventually metastasize and end her life. In 2010, Eleanor passed away; Marilyn missed her mother every day after that. Marilyn loved to visit Dana and her husband, Stefan Litavec, in Boston, where Marilyn insisted on having as many different types of seafood as possible on each trip. She would frequently visit for her birthdays, at the height of lobster season, and enjoyed several joint Fourth of July and birthday celebrations on the beach in Nahant, eating homemade lobster rolls and watching the fireworks down the coast. Marilyn was pleased to bring Stefan into her family in 2018 when he and Dana married in their home in Portland, OR. Marilyn spent several Christmas holidays there, carrying on Eleanor’s Christmas Eve traditions with her new in-laws and Dana and Stefan’s friends. On the evening of July 5th , 2024 Marilyn passed away peacefully at MacNeal Hospital, after a two year battle with complications from her cancer treatments. She was 73 years old.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at St. Louise de Marillac Church, corner of Raymond & Harrison, LaGrange Park. Funeral Mass 10:30 A.M.
Interment Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.
Memorials appreciated to CatNap from the Heart, 1101 Beach Ave, LaGrange Park, IL 60526.
Arrangements entrusted to Hitzeman Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 9445 31stStreet, Brookfield, IL 60513
Information 708-485-2000 or www.HitzemanFuneral.com
For those of you that would like to express your condolences to the family, please click on the Memories link above and you can leave the family a message. If you wish to send a Sympathy Card to the Family, please feel free to send it to Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 31st Street, Brookfield, IL 60513, c/o the Marilyn Weisbrodt Family. We will gladly forward it on to the family.