Photo courtesy of Markiewicz Funeral Home, P.C. - Lemont
Mar 5, 1930 - Aug 9, 2024
Cyrilla Hytry was a great friend for mine of many years and a long member of the Dominic Club. She had a positive spirit and her laughter and presence was enjoyed at all Dominic Activities. She loved dancing and being everyone's friend. She loved to polka dance and we went to many polka dances together. May she rest in peace. Goodbye dear friend.
Laurel Ramsey
November 04, 2024 | Lombard, IL | Friend
Condolences. I feel our paths may have crossed many was even though we have not met. When the kindest people look up to you, that says volumes. Thanks for touching my life.
Robert Bannon
August 18, 2024 | Crest Hill, IL | Acquaintance
Cyrilla was our neighbor for many years from across the street in two houses. And what a great neighbor she was! She helped us out a few times when it was very much needed. We had many great conversations on many topics while sitting on the front porch. Great memories. A true lover of Lemont and a well known resident. We will always remember her with great love and affection. Rest in Peace my friend!♥
Tina and James Dwyer
August 14, 2024 | Phoenix, AZ | Neighbor
Although we’ve never met, I feel I’ve known you all my life through the photo you gave my mother, she placed it into our family album.
Barbara Mahan
August 13, 2024 | San Diego, CA
Cyrilla M Hytry, 94, of Lemont, Illinois passed away peacefully at her home on August 9, 2024. She was born on March 5, 1930, in Lemont to Francis and Antoinette (Graczyk) Hytry, now deceased. She is preceded in death by her sister, Emily and brother-in-law, Benedict Sowa.
Cyrilla is survived by her nephews Arnold (Nancy Kao) Sowa and Mark (Kate) Sowa, and her niece Renée (Daniel) Clausner, as well as her grand nieces and nephews Tai, Alexander, and Julia Kao-Sowa, D. Dillon (Sandra) Clausner, Mary (Jamie) Bruno, Charles and Elizabeth Clausner, and Luke and Emily Sowa, and great-great grand nieces, Margo and Millie Bruno, along with cousins and their children.
Throughout her long life, Cyrilla employed her many talents to bring joy to all those who knew her. Her dedication to her family and loved ones knew no bounds: in her own mother’s final years, she was an unfailing and loving caretaker; to her nephews and niece, she was a nurturing second mother; to her longtime companion, Ray Pond, she was a confidant and devoted co-adventurer; and to all – including strangers– she was always sunny and talkative. Cyrilla was like one of the protons studied at her place of employment, Argonne National Laboratory, where she excelled as a Technical Secretary; when she entered a room, she lit it up with her positive charge.
Eminently sociable, Cyrilla loved celebrations and gatherings; she would even travel thousands of miles by bus and train to attend them, often with Ray in tow, visiting family members and friends living all around the country. Whether she was dancing (her specialty being folk dances), bowling, baking elaborate, delicious, and whimsically decorated desserts (including her famous lamb and doll cakes), or out hunting for the perfect gift for someone she loved, she intuitively knew the perfect way to make everyone feel welcomed and special. She drew everyone who met her into her confidence and had a great many friends. Cyrilla’s sociability combined with her sharp intellect and writing prowess to powerful effect at work too, where she translated the arcane experimental results of Argonne’s Reactor Engineering physicists into publishable academic papers, winning her the admiration of her coworkers, who thanked her by name in their works.
Cyrilla was an avid gardener – and in more than one way. She not only brought forth beautiful blooms of flowers and bounties of produce from the earth, but, through her careful and tireless tending, she brought out the best in everyone around her too. She even often joked that she could communicate with her beloved pets, calming them when needed. Her steadfast kindness, ready laughter, and infinite care for others will be deeply missed.
Cyrilla’s memory will be cherished by all who knew and loved her. Funeral services will be held at Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, which she was named after and whose tolling bells and soaring facade she loved admiring every day from her nearby home.
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