Nona G. Michael

Visitation for Nona G. Michael, 84, of Northbrook, formerly of Chicago, will be held Thursday, June 1, 2023, from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway, Palatine.  We will celebrate her life at a memorial service at the Covenant Living of Northbrook, Town Center Chapel, 2625 Techny Road, Northbrook at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, June 2, 2023.  A private graveside service will also be held Friday at Ridgewood Cemetery, Des Plaines.

Nona was born January 29, 1939 in Chicago and she passed away May 24, 2023 in Lake Zurich, IL.

Nona was the beloved wife of the late Donald Michael; loving mother of Eric (Ruth) Michael and Lorin (Donna) Michael; loving grandmother of Adam, Emily (George) Aleksandrovich, Zachary (Anna), Aaron, and Paige; dear daughter of the late Kenneth and Beulah (Nee Olson) Larson; fond sister of John (Carole) Larson.

In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to either Covenant Living of Northbrook, or the Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church of Chicago.

Following graduation from North Park Academy, Nona went through nursing training at Swedish Covenant Hospital.  She was a proud member of the nursing Class of ‘59.  She specialized in Labor and Delivery initially, and later in pediatrics.  She was the head nurse of the Labor and Delivery department at Swedish Covenant Hospital while also helping out in a private practice as a pediatric nurse for Doctor Tunestam and Doctor Espinosa.  She was also the school nurse at Midwestern Christian Academy in Chicago where Eric and Lorin attended grade school.

In the late 1950s she met the love of her life, Donald Michael who was living with his aunt next door to Nona while attending the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.  Nona and Don married on June 10th, 1961.  They moved further north to Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood and started a family.

Nona continued to work in the medical profession while her children grew and until after her husband Don retired from over 30 years at Commonwealth Edison.  They both served at their church, Ravenswood Covenant Church, in many capacities throughout the years.  Don had many health issues related to his heart primarily and received a heart transplant in 2003.  It was during this time that Nona retired from working as a nurse and volunteered in more positions.  She served on the Swedish Covenant Hospital auxiliary board, and managed the hospital’s thrift shop, “It’s new to me”.

Nona turned more and more of her attention toward caring for Don and helping him through many doctors visits and rehab events.  They moved in to the Covenant Living of Northbrook in 2015, selling their house of over 50 years in Edison Park.  It was there that her dear Donald passed away in 2017, while in the Brandel Health and Rehab Center.  Nona moved through the stages of independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing as her health declined and eventually her stage four chronic kidney disease began to take its toll on her body.

Nona began hospice early this year and her eldest son Eric and his wife Ruth took her into their home where her sons and daughters-in-law cared for her through her final months.