Nancy Rosemary Kolinski was born the oldest child of Lawrence Wojnarowski and Regina Roskinski on February 24, 1940, in Gary, Indiana. On November 10, 2024, she joined her father, mother, step-father Tadeusz, and sister Marian in peace after losing her 10 year battle with dementia. She is survived by her Goddaughter/niece Deborah (Jeff) Krull - daughter Nyssa Krull (Max Svetlov) - son and daughter Oscar and Nora Spilberg; niece Kathryn (Roy) Leonard – son Christopher (Jessica) Motley - son Landon and daughter Kenna; daughter Amanda Leonard; brother Gene (Cheryl) Wojnarowski - daughters Roxane Wojnarowski and Michelle (Ben Rosenberg) Wojnarowski - son Jacob; daughter Donna Wojnarowski; son Michael (Leslie) Wojnarowski - son Jeffery. She was preceded in death by husbands Theodore Glans and Robert Kolinski.
Nancy grew up in New Chicago, Indiana during a time many people would describe as difficult, at one point living in a one-room garage with dirt floor, but she often would fondly recall many happy moments surrounded by her family. She remembers aunts, uncles and cousins living in neighboring homes. As a young child she would visit her grandmother Mary Ann Kapelinski in the basement apartment and hide beneath her skirt in a cat and mouse game with her mother Regina.
As a young woman, after moving to Chicago with her family, Nancy decided to take on the challenge of nursing. This was enabled by loving support from her auntie Rosie and uncle Joseph. In 1960, she received her degree from St. Margaret’s Hospital School of Nursing in Hammond. A few years later, her father Lawrence passed away. Nancy remembers working two weeks overnight followed by two weeks of day shifts.
Nancy fell in love and was married in 1965 and moved to Tifton, GA. Unfortunately, that spouse was a Viet Nam veteran suffering from PTSD. Nancy escaped danger and the marriage was annulled. Later in 1973, she fell in love with Theodore ‘Ted’ Glans, a printer from Chicago. Nancy and Ted, along with their golden retriever ‘Red’, spent many years living above her mother and her stepfather Tadeusz Brostek in Chicago. Unfortunately, Ted passed away leaving Nancy a widow. In 1995, Nancy once again married, this time to Robert Kolinski, a small business owner, and the couple settled in Des Plaines.
Never having children of her own, Nancy was a constant presence in the lives of her nieces and nephews and she loved all of them very much.
Nancy was an active member of St. Mary, Mother of Martyrs church in Des Plaines, where she was a Eucharist minister. Additionally, Nancy volunteered and served as condo board president for many years. Nancy would vacation annually to Puerta Vallarta where she would enjoy the beautiful ocean front weather and friendly people. On another vacation to Rome, Nancy was proud to have met the Pope.
Over the decades, Nancy’s career had many stops. As a nurse, she worked in the surgical suite, maternity ward and spent many hours walking the hospital floors. She was the employee health nurse at Martha Washington Hospital in Chicago, where she was instrumental in connecting her niece Deborah with her future husband Jeff. Nancy also spent many happy years with Williams Electronics and ITT Bell Gossett as a company health nurse before finally retiring.
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