Marilyn Fitzpatrick Dore

Marilyn Dore (née Fitzpatrick), 92, of Glenview, passed away at home surrounded by love on February 5, 2026.

She was the beloved wife of the late Gerald "Gerry" F. Dore; loving mother of Patrick Dore and Sarah Dore McHugh; cherished grandmother of Sharleen Dore and Claire and Julia McHugh; devoted sister-in-law of Mickey (the late Francis) Volini, the late John (the late Judith) Dore, and the late Helen Hermes (the late Jack Morrison); and dear friend of Paul McHugh. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gertrude Williams Fitzpatrick and James Claude Fitzpatrick.

Marilyn was born in Gillespie, Illinois, and some of her fondest childhood memories were of summer visits there from Chicago to stay with her grandmother, Sarah Jane Fitzpatrick, and her beloved Aunt Betty. The colorful cast of uncles, aunts, and cousins made those visits lively, and time in the country was a joy. She grew up in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood overlooking Sheridan Road, cherishing a happy childhood in a deeply loving family.

Music was a throughline of her life. An accomplished pianist who could play by ear, Marilyn was entrusted by the nuns at St. Ita's Parish to play for school Masses during her grade school years. In adulthood, she was the person around whom friends and family gathered at the piano at parties to sing. She graduated from Immaculata High School and Mundelein College, and her Catholic faith remained central to her life.

Marilyn and Gerry wed in February 1957 and began their married life together in apartments on Lunt and Touhy Avenues in Rogers Park, furnishing them with antique treasures that Marilyn often refinished herself. With her dear friend Susan Lock, she spent joyful days picnicking at the Chicago beaches with their young children, rarely without laughter. She adored her mother-in-law, Helen Dore, with whom she shared a close and affectionate relationship. Together, they were known on more than one occasion to stay out laughing and playing cards with the female aunts and cousins on Wrightwood Avenue until sunrise.

After living briefly with Helen Dore to save for a down payment, Marilyn and Gerry purchased their Glenview home in the summer of 1969. They became devoted parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, where Marilyn was active in the Women's Guild and formed some of her closest and most enduring friendships, including with Mary Kate Connery. Patrick and Sarah attended OLPH School, walking there each day. It was an idyllic life marked by a sense of safety, caring friendships, and a joyful and close-knit family.

Marilyn traveled widely, visiting destinations across the globe, with Italy and China among her favorites. She relished parish trips to Europe led by Father Boland and shared memorable, sometimes zany adventures with Pat Lambert and Linda. One standout journey was a cross-country drive to Seattle for a cousin's 25th wedding anniversary, followed by a lakeside stay at a convent filled entirely with relatives from the Henry Geiger and Nellie Hickey family tree. Yet perhaps closest to her heart were the many summers spent with the Dore family in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin-two treasured weeks each year of swimming, boating, reading, dinners out, storytelling, laughter, and, of course, spirited card games.

For more than eighteen years, Marilyn commuted daily by Metra to downtown Chicago, where she worked as a Research Assistant at investment firm John Nuveen & Co. She valued both the intellectual engagement and the friendships she built there. In retirement, she volunteered for twenty years in the ticketing office of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, delighting in attending performances each season. She learned to play bridge-no small undertaking-and became active in several bridge groups, especially cherishing her Saturday gatherings. Winning was sweet; the friendships sweeter still.

Marilyn was an avid reader, devoted theatergoer, talented seamstress, wonderful cook, and terrific hostess who threw elaborate dinner parties and served pitchers of daiquiris. She loved a good joke, was a stickler for grammar, and lived by a strong ethical compass. She served as an election judge each year, read the newspaper daily, watched the nightly news faithfully, and never missed her evening martini. Above all, she loved to laugh.

Visitation will be held Thursday, February 19 from 3:30 – 7pm at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road, Glenview. Visitation will also be held Friday, February 20 from 9:15am until time of Mass at 10 am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 1775 Grove St., Glenview. Interment All Saints Cemetery. Live Stream link.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, C/O Sr. Paulanne's Needy Family Fund, 1775 Grove St., Glenview, IL 60025.