Lorraine Block

Visitation for Mrs. Lorraine Block (nee Renkosiak), 92, of Lake Zurich, to celebrate Lorraine’s life, will be held Thursday, February 19, 2015 from until 10:00 am until time of the Funeral Mass, noon at St. Francis de Sales Church, 33 S. Buesching Road, Lake Zurich.  Father David Ryan will officiate.  Interment will follow in Lake Zurich Cemetery.

Lorraine was born in Chicago on August 24, 1922 to the late Phillip and Frances Renkosiak, and passed away peacefully at her home on February 13, 2015.

She was the beloved wife of the late Gerhardt “Gary” Block, loving mother of Robert (Diane) Block, Roger (Kathy) Block, Gary “Skip” Block, Glenn (Debbie) Block, Gale (Bob) Kleinheinz, Laurie (Fred) Griffith, cherished grandmother of Amanda (Drew), Andy, Eric (Jackie), Leah (Bernardo), Chris, Jenny, Joyce (Josh) and Mary, caring great grandmother of Kiley, Carter, Tessa, Landon, Leila, Haley, Matthew and Breitley, fond aunt, great aunt, and great-great aunt to many nieces and nephews, and special sister-in-law to Mildred Renkosiak.  Lorraine was preceded in death by her siblings Eugene Renkosiak, Dorothy Schweda, Elizabeth Reining and Arthur Renkosiak.

Lorraine attended school in Chicago, including two years of college.  She worked as a secretary at the Office of Price Administration in Chicago.  This was where she met her beloved husband of 69 years.  They were married in October 1945, and lived in Chicago before they moved to Lake Zurich in 1956.  They managed and lived at Nestlerest Park before moving to the Manor where they lived for over 50 years.

While Lorraine and her husband were raising their six children, she worked at Seth Paine cafeteria for 20 years.  She enjoyed the children and made sure all of them had a meal, even if they didn’t have lunch money.  While at home she enjoyed gardening, making sure the birds in her yard had a clean bath and a full feeder, and following the Chicago sports teams, her favorite being the Bulls.

While her husband was a firefighter, Lorraine was a 30-year active member of the Lake Zurich Fire/Rescue Department Ladies Auxiliary.  Several of those years she served as President of the Ladies Auxiliary.

What Lorraine valued most was her family.  A favorite place for her and her husband to visit was Lake Geneva for a boat ride and lunch.  She very much looked forward to the holidays and being surrounded by her entire family.  Part of that family fellowship was having a good game of cards.  She enjoyed attending sporting events of her children and grandchildren and was very proud of them all.

Memorial donations may be made to Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, 400 E. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest, Illinois 60045.