Kathryn Eleanor Kucera

Kathryn Eleanor Kucera February 17, 1930 (Milwaukee) – May 3, 2025 (Chicago)
Kathryn Eleanor Kucera, 95, of Mt Prospect and Chicago passed away on May 3, 2025. She was an artist, a teacher, a writer, a much-loved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She loved creating art in a variety of mediums throughout her life: watercolor, pastels, chalk, charcoal, pen, oil, acrylic and collage. Her art stimulated her intellect and she cultivated her creativity over her entire life. Her work received critical acclaim from prominent Chicago artists, and from the art in Chicago radio show "Critics Choice." She exhibited her artwork in galleries, museums and universities throughout Chicago and the Midwest. Her work often featured colorful mythological or historical references, family, and impressions from her extensive travel experiences. Family remembers her for making personalized birthday cards, most often collages, in her signature style.
In her artist statement, she stated that her work visualized her personal responses to varied locations, climate and cultures, and to current headlines and the spirit of the times. Art "processed and gave form to emotional energies the focus and the gist of my statement in art" she wrote.
In addition to creating art, Kathryn taught Art Appreciation, Art History and Humanities at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, Oakton Community College, Elmhurst College (now University), The Chicago Academy for the Arts, and College of DuPage.
She met Rame Bull while studying at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Related Art. Shortly after graduation, in 1951, they married and moved to Chicago to the campus of IIT where Rame had been hired as an electrical engineer at Armour Research Foundation. They enjoyed living on campus in Gunsaulus and Cunningham Halls (she was pleased that the buildings were designed by Mies Van der Rohe) with other IIT employees and their young families. There they found a very active social life, and lifelong friendships were made. Three of their four children were born on this campus, Elizabeth ("Betsy," 1953), Mary Louise (1955), Gregory (1957). With Stephen (1959) on the way, they moved their growing family to Mount Prospect where Kathryn lived for the next 60 years. During the 1960s, she began taking classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in 1974. She became a member of the women's artist co-op Artemesia Gallery and served as its president from 1977 to 1978.
Kathryn was a world traveler. Her trips were oriented toward seeing and studying art, antiquities and historical places. Her first exotic trip was a gift her parents gave to her and her sister, Sister Barbara, in 1977. They were free to choose anywhere they wished to go, and they chose to go to Egypt. It was Innocents Abroad one unforgettable free day they spent sightseeing on camel backs with local guides Abdul and "Billy". They sipped sweet hot tea in one of Abdul's many "cousins'" shops, crawled thru pyramid tunnels to arrive in deep burial chambers, and rode "bumping and rocking on the camel's back across the desert terrain." They declined Abdul's invitation to visit his tent that evening! This Egyptian adventure was only the beginning of Kathryn's lifelong and incredibly extensive travel experiences. She traveled to over 40 countries, including China, India, Nepal, Russia, southeast Asia and northern Africa.
In the last decade of her life, she began to write books. She published two for family and friends: Little Read Book in 2023, a compilation of her sketches from her China trips with corresponding comments, quotes and poems. In 2024, she published A Collection of Life Stories, a memoir of her life. This was inspired by a 2020 Christmas gift from her grandchildren: Storyworth, a platform for writing and publishing memoirs. It is a treasure. At the time of her death, she was working on a second volume of life stories focused on her travels.
Kathryn is survived by her children Elizabeth (late husband Ken) Baldwin, Mary Louise (Peter) Valeta, Gregory Bull, and Stephen Bull; her grandchildren Lisa (Darren) Bennett, Laura Baldwin (Fiona Noorian), Ellie (Nick) Wiltgen, Emily (Roger) Cuzelis, Anna (Kevin) Barasa, Michael (Caitlyn) Bull, Alexa Bull, and Dylan Bull; and ten great grandchildren.
We are supporting Scholarships at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Gifts in Kathryn's name can be made online at saic.edu/give or reach out to efree@saic.edu if you prefer to give by other means.
The family invites friends for visitation on Sunday, May 18 from 2-6 pm at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Rd, Glenview, IL 60025.
And to a memorial service on Monday, May 19 at 12 noon at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S Emerson St, Mt Prospect, IL 60056, where her collages are on permanent exhibit. A luncheon will follow at Canta Napoli Ristorante, 90 E Busse Ave, Mt Prospect, a short pleasant walk from the library. All are welcome!