Marguerite Cecilia Mariani, 90, of Lombard Illinois, after speaking with, toasting, and blessing her family and friends, passed away peacefully at home on September 27^th, 2024.

She was born in Chicago on June 26, 1934, to Mary and Bill Klump of Cicero Illinois. Brothers Bill Jr. and Bobby soon followed. Raised in a humble home focused on faith in God and service to others, Marguerite developed a strong sense of social justice, the determination to help those in emotional or physical need, and the ability to accept and welcome others without judgement.

Marguerite attended high school at Nazareth Academy in LaGrange and enrolled in a program for students intent on entering religious life. Early in her freshman year she was advised by a loving mentor that her calling lay elsewhere, and she left the program while continuing her education at Nazareth. Within a few years, she met the love of her life, and at 21 she married Robert (Bob) Mariani in August 1955. Marguerite and Bob raised a son and four daughters in a home filled with faith, love, and generosity, where family, friends and strangers were welcomed in and fed with an abundance of food and attention.

A mother who gave unconditional love to her children, Marguerite was also claimed as a “second mother” by so many who knew her and received the gift of her loving concern, unfailing support, and ability to listen without judgment. Her door was always open, the refrigerator always stocked, and the conversations could run for hours. No one left her table without feeling full, both in body and spirit.

Through all her interactions, whether with family, friends, church community, business associates, charitable organizations, healthcare providers, or service workers of all stripes, Marguerite was “love in action” – approachable, open-minded, interested in the life story of whoever she was with, and eager to help. Her friend group was always expanding as she retained friends from childhood while continuously making and keeping new friends at every stage of her life. They were old and young, rich and poor, of different faiths and politics and backgrounds. Marguerite loved without boundaries.

Preceded in death by her son, Robert Jr. (1957 – 1989) and husband, Robert (1934 – 2019), she is survived by daughters Joan (Mark) Andrew, Diane Mariani (Derrick Waddell), Laura (Peter) Ladd, and Karyn (Adam) Schuler, grandchildren Natalie (James) Kearns, Jillian Pusateri, Robert Mariani III, Michael (Bridget) Mariani, Katelyn Mariani, Madeline (Noah) Harrington, Elizabeth  Andrew (Jeff Slyfield), Thomas Andrew, Patrick Ladd, Emily Schuler, Lena Schuler and great-grandchildren Jett Kearns, Mason Kearns, Bear Mariani, Forrest Mariani, Cove Mariani, and Agnes Mariani.

A funeral Mass will be held on October 25, 2024, at Ascension of our Lord Church in Oak Brook Terrace, Il. Visitation will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the church, followed by Mass at 9:30 a.m. Inurnment will be private. Arrangements have been entrusted to Cappetta’s West Suburban Funeral Home, 4920 Main Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515. For more information, please call 630-852-8000 or visit us at www.westsburbanfh.com.