WB_062719

26 | June 27, 2019 | The wilmette beacon FAITH
wilmettebeacon.com
Faith Briefs
First Congregational Church of Wilmette
(1125 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette)
Weekly Youth Activities
Open to the Community
Every Wednesday, the
church’s children and
youth ministry offers opportunities
for fun, friendship,
spirituality, and service.
Kids Club (K–grade
6) meets at 4:30 p.m. In the
evening, the Confirmation
Class (grades 7 & 8) meets
at 6 p.m.
And the Senior High
Youth Group gathers at
7:15 p.m.
The two evening youth
groups have a tasty dinner
together at 6:45 p.m. —
sometimes chicken, sometimes
pasta.
Learn about the church
community at www.fccw.
org or contact for more
details: (847) 251-6660 or
1stchurch@fccw.org.
Winnetka Covenant Church (1200
Hibbard Road, Wilmette)
Community Kitchen
On the first and third
Thursday of each month a
group meets in the church
kitchen to prepare food for
the Community Kitchen of
A Just Harvest.
They start working at
about 1 p.m. and continue
until the food is prepared,
about 3:30.
All are invited to come
and participate in as much
of that time as you are
available.
Trinity United Methodist Church (1024
Lake Ave., Wilmette)
Food Pantry
If you are in need of
help, and are short on food,
do not hesitate to come to
the Wilmette Food Pantry.
The church is here to serve
the community. No matter
who you are or where you
are on life’s journey, you
are welcome at the Wilmette
Food Pantry.
The food pantry is open
from 10:30-11:30 a.m. every
Tuesday and provides
grocery items and seasonal
produce. All Wilmette residents
are welcome and no
appointment is necessary.
Kenilworth Union Church (211
Kenilworth Ave., Kenilworth)
Worship
Come worship with the
church at 8 and 10 a.m. every
Sunday.
Sunday School/ Priesthood
and Relief Society:
11:40 a.m.
North Shore 2nd Ward
Sacrament Meeting: 9
a.m.
Sunday School/Priesthood
and Relief Society:
10:10 a.m.
Baha’i House of Worship (100 Linden
Ave., Wilmette)
Devotional Gatherings
The Baha’i Temple is
open to all for personal
prayer and meditation every
day from 6 a.m.-10
p.m.
Prayers are read aloud
daily in the Auditorium
at 9:15 a.m. and 12:30
p.m., including a cappella
singing by choir or soloists
on Sundays at 12:30
p.m.
The House of Worship
activities staff can be
reached at (847) 853-2300
or how@usbnc.org. Visit
www.bahaitemple.org. Informal,
interactive devotional
gatherings are held
regularly at the homes of
Baha’is in Wilmette. Bring
prayers, readings, poetry,
or music to share if you’d
like.
People of all backgrounds
are welcome.
Contact the Wilmette
Baha’i community for
locations and schedule:
847-906-3409 or wilmettebahais@gmail.com.
Please see Faith, 27
memoriam
From Page 7
also served the Catholic
Theological Union.
“She was always supportive
of the schools and
what they were trying to
accomplish in any way she
could be,”daughter Rooney
Kerns said.
Outreach to those in need
was also also a priority for
Marguerite and was realized
by serving as a tutor,
extraordinary minister, lector
and hospice volunteer.
For over a decade she ran
Faith, Hope & Charity’s
Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults (RCIA) program,
which is for people who
are interested in converting
to Catholicism. “She was
there for people who were
looking for a way to grow
in their faith and spiritual
life,” Rooney said.
One of Marguerite’s
most important contributions
to the church came
when she was president of
the FHC Parish Council
during a period of controversy
and parish unrest regarding
the alleged conduct
of a priest. “She handled it
with graciousness, aplomb
and courtesy to all,” said
Joanie Binder, who sat on
the same council. “It was
not an easy task but she
held it valiantly and graciously.
Her style was to
handle it with grace and
calm. She was rational and
chose the right path to go
forward.”
Family and friends who
filled Saints Faith, Hope
& Charity on June 22 to
celebrate Marguerite’s life
spoke often of her uplifting
spirit, positivity, fascination
with “life’s simple
pleasures,” ever present
sense of humor, and the
trappings of a bountiful
family life.
She loved to cook for
and host big family Sunday
dinners and parties. “The
more the merrier,” Rooney
said. BBQ ribs, beef stroganoff
and chicken divan
were among her specialities.
“She always had a smile
on her face,” grand-daughter
Genevieve Kerns said.
“You could see a glow in
her eyes filled with kindness
and love for everyone.”
Family spring break
trips to Florida were a particular
treat, she added.
“She always acted a lot
younger than she was,”
said grand-daughter Maggie
O’Brien, who fondly
recalled doing Jane Fonda
exercise videos with Marguerite.
“She had a ton of
energy, and she was super
engaged with all of us
grandchildren.” And then
of course there were her
famous fluff and peanut
butter sandwiches. “I think
all of the grandchildren remember
those.”
Marguerite adored the
times she spent with the
great-grandchildren, too.
“She loved the babies,”
Maggie O’Brien. “She
could rock a baby to sleep
and just sit there holding
the newborn all the time.”
“She was a really incredible
woman,” Maggie
O’Brien said. “This family
has a very deeply rooted
sense of faith and Christianity,
prayer, Mass, goodness,
and kindness. All of
those things are deeply
rooted not just in her and
doc (Warren, who died 21
years ago), but it was so
deeply ingrained in all of
us. It is very much at the
core of our family values.”
Marguerite left another
legacy as well, a completion
of the circle. Nearly six
decades after choosing to
leave the health industry to
be a wife and mother, two
of her ten children are surgeons
and six are serving
in administrative or other
capacities in the medical
field.
Marguerite is survived
by her 10 children, Warren
(Jeanne), Bow (Mark
McGuire), Denis (Mary),
Daniel, Cathreen (Edward
Fay), John (Mary), Marguerite
(Dean Vitulski),
Maryruth (Michael Kerns),
Thomas (Rosemarie) and
Terese (Ryan Hendrickson);
27 grandchildren,
15 great grandchildren, 40
nieces and nephews and
three siblings, Rosemary
Flynn, Mary Grace Stafford,
Lorraine Wagner. She
is predeceased by four siblings,
Cathreen Sweeney,
Reverend Denis Sweeney,
Clayton Sweeney, and Cecilia
Donaghue.
Joanne Schaefer Whitney
Joanne Schaefer (Mangin)
Whitney, a former
Wilmette resident, died
June 16 after a short illness.
Born in Evanston, Illinois
on Feb. 22, 1930 and
raised in Wilmette, Whitney
attended St. Joseph Elementary
and St. Scholastica
High School in Chicago.
She also attended Barat
College in Lake Forest.
Married to Frank Mangin
in 1950 in Camp Cook near
Santa Barbara, they settled
and raised six children in
Phoenix. They are Margaret
Mangin, Gary Mangin,
Didar Singh Khalsa (Didar
Kaur), Michael Mangin,
Mary Violet Relling (Bill
Evans) and Stephen Mangin
(Deidre). All are in
reasonably thriving condition
and have managed 14
grandchildren for Whitney
and many great grandchildren.
Her grandchildren
loved her almost as much
as her children. She is also
survived by sisters Helen
Schantz and Peggy Valaski.
After the first marriage
ended in 1974, Whitney
married Arizona rancher
Art Whitney and they remained
in Phoenix until
Art died in 1998. Whitney
then moved briefly to San
Diego to help with granddaughter
Lauren and then
for 17 years to Memphis
where she helped with four
other grandsons who cherished
her dearly.
Whitney was an active
member of the Saint Francis/Brophy/Xavier
community.
She often served
as “Room Mother” at SFX
grammar school, drove to
many of her kids’ sporting
and social events with
other kids in tow, attended
sporting events (although
sometimes closing her eyes
during suspenseful free
throws), participated in
neighborhood bridge parties,
and kept active in the
Society of the Sacred Heart.
Her children remember the
incredible kindness that
she showed to their friends
in the Central and Camelback
area. Her house was
often the neighborhood
hub for many kids who
were friends with her children.
“Five more for dinner”
was not uncommon
and she was so loving and
graceful that the friends
were also under her spell.
No matter the challenges
that they threw at her she
never stopped believing in
and loving her offspring.
Small miracle.
She moved back to Phoenix
in October to be near
Gary and in her “hometown”
where she spent so
many happy years.
Have someone’s life you’d
like to honor? Email
Michael Wojtychiw at
m.wojtychiw@22ndcentury
media.com with information
about a loved one who was
part of the Wilmette/Kenilworth
community.