Kathleen M. Tobin

On July 30, 2024, Kathleen Marie (née Dreyer) Tobin, age 94, passed away peacefully in her home, after a few short weeks of illness. She was in the company of family and caregivers during her final hours. Kathleen was preceded in death by her husband, Edmund M. Tobin, her parents, Robert and Marie Dreyer, and four of her six siblings: Robert "Duke" Dreyer, Jr., Jim Dreyer, Bill Dreyer, and Janet (née Dreyer) O'Leary. She is survived by her sisters Elizabeth Dreyer Bennett and Virginia L. Navarro. Kathleen and Ed were married for sixty-eight years and had eight children. She is survived by her children Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Haas (W. Steven), Edmund M., Jr. (Diane), Margaret A. (the late Gjerry Berquist), Francis X., Jeanne M. Zemaitis (Michael), Susan C. Latham (Harry Tolbert, Jr.), Amy J. "Amy Jo" Siegle (Stephen), and Christopher J. (Marcy). As a grandmother, she is survived by Matthew, Nathan, Neal, Marie, and Mark Haas; Joy Farber, Kailie Kaluf, and Sara Tobin; Lucas Tobin-Trumm; Andrew, Carl, Lynn and Steven Zemaitis; Michelle, Robert, Kevin, and Joseph Latham; Arthur, Eleanor, and George Siegle; Nicholas, Benjamin and Emily Tobin.

In addition, Kathleen was blessed with twelve great-grandchildren: Ryan, Kyle, and Emma Haas; Adelyn, Jack, and Katherine Haas; Seamus and Rose Haas; Thomas and Julia Farber and Adelaide and Eloise Kaluf.

Kathleen was born on June 4, 1930 and was a Chicago resident her entire life, beginning on the north side and moving to the south during the upper grades of elementary school. She attended Academy of Our Lady High School and Rosary College (now Dominican University). After marrying Ed, they settled in Beverly and that was where Kathleen enriched her community through her love of nature and the arts.

Her first exposure to nature took place as a child on visits to her grandparents' farm. Later, the Tobin family began a 55-year tradition of vacationing in Wisconsin's Northwoods. Kathleen often spent additional weeks in a cabin on her own, further absorbing the peace and serenity of the natural world. Back in the city, she became a certified TreeKeeper through the Openlands Project, a non-profit conservation group, and went to work getting support for planting new trees on Beverly parkways and other spaces. She called this initiative "Keeping Beverly Green". In addition, she gave constant attention to her own large property where trees, shrubs, and flowers flourished.

For thirty years Kathleen wrote her "Chicago Alive" column for The Beverly Review, where she promoted and reviewed all types of artistic performances. Not content to just write about opera or theater for Beverly residents, she created the Beverly Foundation for the Performing Arts in 1988 to bring live performances to the community. With the help of other community leaders, she produced many notable concerts and theatrical productions. She also expressed her love of music by singing for many years with the St. Barnabas choir and with the community choir's performance of Handel's "Messiah". Kathleen traveled the world not just to see famous sights, but to talk to the people of other countries and learn about their culture. She also organized trips to London for friends and accompanied them as their tour guide. At the age of eighty-six she traveled with family to Chile and ascended to 14,000 feet to experience the beauty of Lake Chungara. A year later, she bought a bus ticket and traveled to Washington D.C. for the Women's March. And finally, Kathleen concluded her international travel with a solo trip to New Zealand.

Above all, Kathleen was a mother. She had the energy and organizational skills to keep a household of eight children running. She also opened her home and her heart to foster many babies waiting for adoption through Catholic Charities. Kathleen and Ed valued education for their children and she modeled that belief by being a life-long learner.

Private interment has taken place. A memorial Mass will be held at St. Barnabas Catholic Church, 10134 S. Longwood Dr. 60643, Chicago, on Saturday, August 24 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Barnabas Music Ministry. Arrangements entrusted to Donnellan Funeral Home, info (773) 238-0075 or sign guestbook at www.donnellanfuneralhome.com.