Christina Grodek

Christina Zaragoza Grodek  

Aug 7, 1961 - Nov 12, 2023

Husband: Jeff Grodek

Parents: Dinah & Pedro Zaragoza

Siblings: Pete Zaragoza (June Gatch), Linda Zaragoza Jaracz (Rick Jaracz)

Nephews & Niece: Bruce Madurzak (Natalie Wellhausen), Lisa Zaragoza (Noel Jacob) and little baby girl, projected due date 12/7/23, Peter Zaragoza (Megan King)

Great Friends: Sue Trevino-Almendarez, Maggie Rook, Sue Arms

Donations can be made in her name to St. Mary of Czestochowa.

Preceded in death by her sister Diana Madurzak (Bruce Madurzak), brother Paul Zaragoza and brother-in-law George Grodek (Peggy Grodek).

A visitation for Christina will be on Thursday, November 16^th from 3 – 8 pm at the Sourek Manor Funeral Home, 5645 W. 35^th St., Cicero. Funeral Mass on Friday, November 17^th at 10 - 11 am at St. Mary of Czestochowa Church, Cicero. Interment at Resurrection Cemetery, Justice, Il from 12 – 1 pm. For more information call 708-652-6661.

Christina was born in 1961, the third daughter of Dinah and Pedro Zaragoza in three years. Their older brother Pete preceded them by four years and their youngest Paul five years after. All daughters were born at St. Cabrini Hospital and baptized at St. Procopius on 18^th Street in Pilsen. They always shared a room and according to Linda, the eldest, fought like “cats” until they left the nest and then became great friends. The friendship between Chris and middle daughter Diana intensified when her nephew Bruce was born later in 1979. One time as young girls they were mistaken for triplets, all three wearing identical “sailor” suits. Christina distinctly remembered them sharing outfits and later really enjoyed wearing one of Diana’s. She was not always so happy about her outfits, complaining that she had to wear black instead of white shoes at her First Communion. According to her mother Dinah this happened because during the fall no white shoes were available, but to Chris that was no consolation.

The three girls attended St. Paul’s School through 8^th grade and took First Communion at the same church. All commuted by bus and train for high school at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange, Chris graduating last in 1979. One of her classmates was her childhood friend Sue Trevino. Chris exhibited a life-long talent for making and holding onto friends from her neighborhood, churches, and schools. She later reflected her religious training by being a long-term teacher for catechism at St. Mary of Czestochowa and as an Vincentian of St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Turibius Parish

Chris’s first apartment as a young woman was in Chinatown and the whole family helped her move into a spiffy new space with a courtyard. At the time red was her favorite color for interior design. Later she moved and lived in a two-flat house near her parents in Cicero, prior to getting married.

After jobs at Jewel and the Chicago Theater, she worked a longer time for Hyatt, sometimes based in high end hotels on Chicago’s Gold Coast and later at the McDonald’s Oakbrook campus. Taking advantage of “free” hotel rooms around the country she treated her parents, siblings, nephews (Bruce and Peter) and niece (Lisa) on multiple trips to such destinations as St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Other non-Hyatt trips included vacationing with family members to Disneyworld and Mackinac Island. She even traveled to Europe with her sister Linda’s friend Judy Houston and visited Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Barcelona. Eventually tiring of a “corporate” atmosphere she searched in the nonprofit realm and found her final job at the European American Association, where she worked for 18 years, even up to six weeks before her death.

Chris “met” Jeff Grodek in 2005 on CatholicSingles.com. There was a LONG courtship, since according to her sister-in-law Peg, Grodek men take a long time to pull the trigger. Married in 2015, they hosted a beautiful wedding at St. Mary of Czestochowa and then a fabulous reception at Hickory Hills Country Club. It was important to Chris to include all her Morales aunts and uncles and as many cousins as possible. Per her sister Linda, she really enjoyed her family connections, including her special pal, now 100-yr-old Uncle Benny Morales. A lifelong dream of her new husband was to visit all fifty states, which he achieved on their honeymoon to Hawaii; their next quest was to visit all U.S. National Parks in which they were well on their way to champion.  A new tradition for them included annual Governor Dodge camping trips with Jeff’s family, which included his three brothers George, Chet, and Ray along with their wives Peg, Betty, and Nada. The couple resided in a yellow-brick two-flat shared with Jeff’s mother Elizabeth 'Bea' Grodek near Midway Airport. Along with Chris came her two cats Lou and Ozzie (RIP), named for the competing managers in the Crosstown Classic, though Ozzie turned out to be a girl. Chris was a life-long Cubs fan.

The initial diagnosis of cancer came around Easter of 2022 and treatment entailed all available tools including radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy through Loyola Hospital in Maywood. The final hope was a clinical trial at the University of Chicago. However, that trial took too much of a toll. On Sept 28^th Chris returned to her parent’s house to be catered to with any food that her mother could provide that she could still tolerate. With Jeff and family’s help she received IV rehydration as an outpatient when needed and then finally a week-long hospital stay at Loyola. Transitioning to a rehab unit, she ended up at LaGrange Hospital where tests showed unrelenting advancement of her disease. After a three-day ICU stay that included final visits by many friends and family whom she could still recognize and squeeze their hands, Christina died at around 2 PM on November 12^th with Jeff and other family members at her bedside.