On November 18, 2025, shortly after the new day dawned, Rose Shuster took her last breath. Her passing came with her daughters at her side, following several days of being showered with love by her children, grandchildren, friends, and countless staff from three different assisted living facilities that were her home over the past few years. She was 98 years old.
Rose Katherine Pavletic was born in Brookfield (Congress Park), Illinois, on August 28, 1927. Her parents Ivan and Eva (Markovic) Pavletic were Croatian immigrants who had separately made their way to America in search of a better life. Ivan worked in the nearby quarry while Eva raised their four daughters. Rose and her older sister Mary left high school as teens so they could get jobs to support their family. Many years later, in her 40s, Rose proudly earned her high school diploma.
While working at a factory in Westmont, Illinois, Rose met a shy young man named Joe Shuster. She had her eye on him, and she thought the feeling was mutual. He finally worked up the courage to ask her out, and the rest is history. They were married on May 8, 1948, at St. Barbara’s Parish in Brookfield, Illinois.
Rose and Joe lived in Westmont until 1967 when they moved their family of eight into a four bedroom house that Joe had built in unincorporated Hinsdale, Illinois. While raising her five children, Rose managed to work in various jobs. In her spare time, she and Joe enjoyed getting together with other couples to play cards, dance, and even play sports. She was a skilled archer in her younger years, and she and Joe became avid square dancers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Rose loved feeding her family foods from the old country. For every holiday, she made traditional Croatian and Bohemian foods like strudel, kolacky, and orehnjaca (Croatian walnut roll). For family birthdays, she would cook whatever the birthday boy or girl wanted. The choice was almost always ptacky, a Bohemian dish of roundsteak rolls in sour cream sauce, served with dumplings.
Rose loved doing puzzles and playing cards, which she continued to do well into her 90s. Her favorite pastime, though, was simply spending time with family and friends.
Rose is survived by four children, Joseph Shuster of Salem, Missouri; Susan (David) Errek of Waukesha, Wisconsin; Linda (Robert) Shuster Forrest of Indian Head Park, Illinois; and Lisa (Edward) Janairo of Middleton, Wisconsin. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter Kathy Shuster and her husband of 53 years Joseph Shuster.
In her final days, Rose told family and friends who visited that she loved them and she urged them to take good care of their families. She also shared her wish for peace, love, and joy for all. May her spirit and her last words bring comfort to everyone who feels her loss.
A celebration of Rose’s life will take place on Saturday, April 11, at 1 pm at Cappetta’s West Suburban Funeral Home 39 N. Cass Ave., Westmont Illinois. Interment will follow at Clarendon Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Rose’s memory be made to local food pantries so that people in need will be able to get nutritious food just like her family did during the Depression.
The family would like to thank the staff at Bristol Hospice, Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and Sunrise Senior Living of both Westmont and Willowbrook for the dedication, compassion, and love they brought to Rose’s care during the last few years and the final days of her life. You all made a difference in her life and ours.
Funeral info 630-852-8000 or westsuburbanfh.com