Mary McGovern

1935 - 2017

Mary Ann McGovern, age 82, of Plainfield, IL, left this life for a brighter one on the beautiful, sunny morning of Saturday, April 29, after a long struggle with lung disease and COPD. She had recently moved to Fairfield, CT, to spend her last days in the company and care of her daughter and her family and friends. Mare, as she was known by her loved ones, graduated from Washington-Clay High School in South Bend, IN in 1953. After working as a secretary in the insurance industry, she met her late husband, Keith A. McGovern, originally of Darlington, PA, while he was attending TriState University in Angola, IN. They married in 1958, and soon afterwards began an exciting life together, criss-crossing the United States with the Boeing Corporation, working on various engineering installations and raising four children along the way. They settled in the Chicagoland area about ten years later. Devoted to her family, friends and her Roman Catholic faith, Mary Ann spent 25 years as the Plant Secretary at the Rexnord Corporation in Downers Grove. She and her husband retired to the Carillon senior living community in Plainfield, where she joined the St. Andrew the Apostle parish and became active in the community. For many years, she volunteered in the Sewing Club at Carillon, where she made lap quilts and wheel-chair saddle bags for the elderly. She enjoyed playing cards, board games and Mah Jongg, and was a regular in the back row of Carillon's stretch and exercise classes in the clubhouse. Her grandchildren loved visiting her because the fun never stopped and there was an endless supply of homemade cupcakes and oatmeal raisin cookies. She was a sweet, sweet woman who was quick to ask about others and never sought the spotlight for herself, and in so doing, became a beacon of light for her loved ones. In addition to her husband, Mary Ann is predeceased by her mother and father Violet (Dlugosz) and Joseph Kush, and her beloved older sister, Leona (Kush) Reed. She is survived by her sister, Patricia (Kush) Roberts, her sister and brother-in-law Carryl (McGovern) and Pat Fisher, and her four children: Michael McGovern of Bridgeport, CT, and his children Jonathan and Ryan of NY; Jeffrey and Kristine (Henken) McGovern of Collbran, CO, and their three children Erin Moyer (husband Zack and their two boys Luke and Beau) of Carrollton, OH, Ethan, currently serving in the US Navy, and Adam of Grand Junction, CO; Kelly McGovern and Steven Hurst and their three children Rachel, Tom and Olivia of Fairfield, CT; and Douglas McGovern, of Plainfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to support the Palliative Care experts at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, CT. Contributions may be sent to the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation at 267 Grant Street, Bridgeport, CT, 06610, or online at foundation@bpthosp.org. For more information about their services, please call 203-384-3522. A memorial mass is scheduled for 10am on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at St. Andrew the Apostle church at 530 Glen Avenue in Romeoville, IL. For information or to offer an online condolence please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com