Miriam "Mickey" Jean Droske

Visitation

Sep 29, 2022 to Sep 30, 2022

Biography

Miriam Jean Droske, (affectionately known always as “Mickey”), 82, lived an abundant and beautiful life. She passed onto peace suddenly on September 24, 2022, leaving behind countless friends and family members whose lives she profoundly impacted. Born the last of five children on September 17, 1940 to her loving parents, Vincent and Louise Niederer, Mickey and her siblings were nurtured and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She met her wonderful Eddie, the love of her life, very early in life – at a bar, followed by a date that sealed their fate, followed by their wedding when Mickey was just 21 years old. Together, Ed and Mickey raised one daughter and three sons in Chicago before they moved to Elk Grove Village – a town they lived in and loved for over 30 years. While Ed toiled working two jobs to provide for their family, he felt – and often said aloud – that it was Mickey who bore the true heavy lifting in their life together. (After having four children in three years, it was easy to agree with that notion.) Upon the birth of their first child, Mickey promptly quit her job in the X-ray department at West Suburban Hospital and never looked back. She served her family as a devoted mother and dedicated homemaker, and went on to work at the Elk Grove Library – a job she enjoyed immensely until she left it to help her children raise their own. Mickey and Ed shared a storybook love that spanned decades until Ed passed in 2020, less than a year shy of their 60th wedding anniversary. Somehow always able to strike the perfect mix of hilarious and sentimental, Mickey enjoyed deeply personal connections, sought out meaningful interactions, and exhibited an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. She had a knack for shopping (never missing a chance to put her Discover card to good use), she loved games, parties, and people, and she had a PhD in iPhone emoji (over)use. Always faithfully loyal to anything she held close, she was a lifelong Cubs and Bears fan, and an ‘80s Bulls fanatic. Mickey loved so much about life, but absolutely nothing held a candle to Christmas – a holiday for which she’d begin planning on December 26th of the previous year. She thoroughly enjoyed showering her family with gifts, but always too made room for those less fortunate. Through philanthropic donations and private good deeds, she shed constant light on her lifelong commitment to a resolute Catholic faith. Mickey will be forever remembered by her beloved and adoring children Sue, Michael, Tom, and Jim. Mickey was never fond of the term “in-law,” proudly declaring that “my in-law kids are my kids too.” She leaves behind three of these bonus children, and will be truly missed by John, Marie, and Christine. In a fitting tribute to her life as a devoted mother, three of Mickey’s four kids settled a short distance from her, which meant frequent family dinners right up until the week she passed. They will continue in her honor forever. Mickey also had particularly special relationships with her cherished grandchildren Marianne (Art), Danny (Beth), Colleen, Lauren, Emma, Mia, Jack, Casey, Danielle, and Abrianna, and was blessed with a life long enough to have four great-grandchildren: Gage, Rowan, Gracey and Maddilyn. Quite literally never having spent a second on Earth without her twin sister and best friend Diane (Fred) Seibert, Mickey will be desperately missed until they meet again. Mickey is also survived by siblings-in-law and treasured friends Eileen (the late George) Healy, Kathy (Tom) Bier, and John (Mary) Droske. She was preceded in death by her sisters Louise (Ed) Donnellan, Delores (John) Cilia, and Marge (Larry) Barrett. She will be missed always by many treasured nieces and nephews. Remarkably, Mickey was as loved by new acquaintances as she was by lifelong confidantes. Despite having only recently moved to Ascension Living Resurrection Village in Chicago, she was surrounded by people there who counted her as a friend. This was probably due to the fact that Mickey’s fervor for life walked into a room before she did: she was a curator of conversations, a purveyor of funny stories, a celebrator of every single possible occasion, and the quintessential good time. She was rich in friendship throughout her life and will be deeply missed by those she leaves behind. >>> A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 29th from 3pm - 8pm at The Oaks Funeral Home 1201 E Irving Park Road (at Prospect) Itasca, IL. Family and friends are invited to meet for a funeral mass at 10 AM on Friday at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Elk Grove Village, followed by a burial at Maryhill Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum. A luncheon to celebrate Mickey’s life will follow at The Fairway in Niles. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to https://safefamilies-chicago.funraise.org All money received will be used to buy Christmas gifts for children in need. For funeral info please call The Oaks Funeral Home 630-250-8588 or oaksfh.com