Mary Helen Hickey

mary hickey
Mary Helen Hickey, 99, formerly of Camp Grove, IL, died August 7, at Unity Point Proctor Hospital in Peoria where she was admitted following a stroke at her home in Bradford on July 28. Her final care was under Unity Point Hospice. She had resided at Courtyard Estates in Bradford since 2006 after the death of her husband of over 65 years, John W. Hickey, who died April 2, 2005. Helen was born in Bradford on June 12, 1916, to Henry and Adelia Steimle Fuertges. She graduated from Bradford High School in 1934. She worked at Fuertges Bros. Grocery until her marriage. She and John were married at St. John the Baptist church in Bradford on May 20, 1939. She is survived by four sons: Philip (Mary) of Everett, WA, Bernard of Edelstein, IL, Dennis (Valerie) of Bradford, and Jim (Peggy) of Bellingham WA; two daughters, Rosemary (Henry) Welch of Evanston, IL, and Kathleen (Dan) Czarniewski of Pine Beach, NJ; eleven grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sister Frances and brothers George, Donatus, Bernard, and Leo. In her last days she was attended to by all of her children, some of their spouses, and some of her grandchildren. She lived in Camp Grove her whole married life where she was a member of St. Patrick Church and its Altar & Rosary Society and taught CCD classes. In Bradford she has been a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church where she was baptized and married and where her funeral service will be held. As a parent of a large family she was a very busy and very devoted homemaker and mother. Hobbies and interests she enjoyed included reading, cooking, dolls, sewing and other needlework, ballroom dancing, and travel. She was one of the last surviving members of the group of young women whose extensive travels during the 1930s and 1940s in a 1926 Ford Model T called the “Silver Streak” are lately being recalled locally. Her trip was in 1937 to eastern Canada. Funeral services will be Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Bradford at 10:00 a.m. with Father John Cyr officiating. Visitation 4-7 Tuesday, August 11, 2015 in the Grant-Johnson Funeral Home, Bradford. Rosary services at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at funeral home. A graveside service will be held at St. Patrick Cemetery in Camp Grove immediately following the funeral service. Memorials may be directed to St. John''s Church Building Fund, St. Patrick Cemetery, or Bradford Rescue Squad.

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  1. To the Hickey family, I’m sorry for your loss. She will so be in your hearts and memories.


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