Kevin M. Dolan

Kevin Dolan from Mundelein, IL passed away on October 7, 2023 in Unincorporated Lake County, IL from a tragic car accident.  He was born on July 15, 1957, in Youngstown, OH and attended St. Ed’s Elementary School and Ursuline High School there.

In 1975 he went to the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1979 with a degree in finance.  While there, his love of illicit lumber acquisition and construction, fencing tournament support, and Pabst Blue Ribbon led him to develop lifelong friendships with many of his fellow students that would carry on long after graduation.  Decades after they graduated, a large group consisting of he and his friends would still gather at least once annually to play euchre late into the night, listen to Motown music, and tell the same dozen or so stories over and over.  

Within hours of stepping foot at Notre Dame, Kevin met the love of his life, a St. Mary’s student named Barb Wirtes.  They would eventually marry in 1981 and have four children, Brian in 1983, Maggie in 1984, Sean in 1986, and Kevin in 1987.  Also in the mix at various points were several rabbits, one very loud bird, a handful of racoons for a couple of weird months, four very good dogs, and countless fish, some of whom Kevin tolerated and some of whom he secretly loved.

While he made clear that being a husband and father were the two most important jobs in his life, Kevin also enjoyed tremendous professional success.  After graduation, he got a job in finance at Abbott Laboratories, a company that he would go on to work at for the next 33 years before retiring in 2012.  While there, he would go on to serve in a number of finance and accounting roles including Vice President and Controller for TAP Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Abbott and Takeda Chemicals of Japan, and Vice President and Controller of the US Pharmaceutical Division.  More importantly, across those years he was blessed to work with countless people who would go on to be close friends, playing in basketball and softball leagues with them, gathering at the Jolly Bull with them, and enjoying rib tip dinners of various hotness from Hillery’s BBQ with them.   

Outside of work during those years, Kevin kept busy by being a 3rd degree member of the Mundelein chapter of the Knights of Columbus, by being a coach of his sons’ basketball teams, and by serving on the School Board for Santa Maria del Popolo school.  His experience as an elected official on the school board would later inspire him to run and be elected a Mundelein Park District Commissioner, a position he would hold from 1997 until the present day.  Also during this time (exact year unknown), Kevin started the annual Dolan St. Patrick’s Day Party.

After his retirement from Abbott, Kevin managed to still stay busy.  Two of his major hobbies were cooking way too much food for people on a frankly obscene number of grills and golfing.  A Tig Award winner at the Bud Bash, Kevin loved golf since he was a child.  He was proud of his Kevin-ish golf game, particularly of his ability to hit out of the rough behind numerous trees, citing extensive experience with his drives ending up there in the first place.  That love of golf would inspire him to become owner and proprietor of the Four Seasons Golf Resort and Tiki Bar.  Other post-retirement pursuits included serving on the executive board of North Shore Bank and being an extremely silent partner in Our Lord’s Little Ones (OLLO) Preschool.  

Kevin was predeceased by his father, John Dolan, his mother, Mary Dolan, his brother, Jack Dolan, and all the relevant members of the Temptations except for Otis Williams.  He leaves behind his wife Barb, his children Brian, Maggie, Sean, Kevin, and Meghan, and his grandchildren Maeve, Clare, and Quinn, all of whom loved him dearly, miss him like hell, and are eternally grateful for the time they were able to spend with him.

Kevin’s wake will be on Sunday, October 15th from 1-5 PM at Kristan Funeral Home in Mundelein. A Visitation at St. Mary of the Annunciation Church will be from 9-10 AM Monday, October 16th funeral mass will begin at 10 AM.

The family has asked for two things:

1)      In lieu of flowers, donations be given to St Edward Catholic School in Chicago, where his grandchildren attend: https://www.givecentral.org/location/347/event/16156 

2)      Everyone who is able calls up their father today and tells him how much they love him.