Dominica Warren, 81 passed away September 24, 2012 at her home surrounded by her family. Her family and friends knew her by Mom, Nani, Nana, Grandma, Mamie, Mimi, and Mame but whatever you knew her by she was a happy fun loving lady who laughed a lot.
She was the fifth child of Joseph and Katherine Russano, the baby of the family, born on August 28, 1931.
She attended LaFayette Grammar School in Chicago, after graduation as a freshman she went to Sabin for one year. This was part of Tuley High School and she went there for the last three years.
Mamie held many part time jobs, Rosen’s bakery, Crib Diaper, Match factory and also a job stuffing envelopes with chance cards. She went to work for Continental Bank as a senior on the IBM machine. At the time she asked her mother for her birth certificate and found out her real name was Dominica.
On August 11, 1951 she married Pvt. James H. Warren (Peewee) of the U.S. Air Force. They had seven children and raised them in Norridge where they lived for 36 years.
Mamie was active in the James Giles PTA where she began as publicity chairman and wrote the school news for the Lerner Times. She was Vice President and cookie mother for the Girl Scouts and Den Mother for the Boy Scouts. She bowled with Divine Savior women’s League.
She worked for Fotomat Co part time for 6 years and cleaned houses in order to support her family. She worked nights at Unity Bank cleaning the offices. When Peewee became ill they sold the cleaning stores and she went to work full time for Bresler Ice Cream Co. Bresler sold to Drexel and she went there to work. She was a member of Teamsters #736. She was an independent contractor for J.S. Paluch, a printing company and picked up bulletins from churches. She was also an independent contractor of Kit Moss, a marketing firm and did demonstrations for a variety of Jewel Food Stores.
In 1992, she move to a condo in Elmwood Park and sang in St. Celestine’s choir.
She moved to Cambridge on the Lake in Buffalo Grove in 2000, and retired and started to enjoy life and bingo.
In 2007, she moved to Deer Park, Illinois where she lived until her death with her daughter, son-in-law and two grand-daughters.
She is preceded in death by her father and beloved mother and best friend as well as her brothers Albert, Joey and Sabie. Peewee passed away in 1990.
She leaves behind her loving sister, Mildred Delre. She also leaves behind her heart and much love to her children, James (Kate), Katherine, Lisa (John) Marcus, Shaun (Russell) Cecala, Robert, Michael (Margaret) and Carrie Ann (Joseph) Groeller, her constant best friends.
Oh how she will miss her grandchildren, Jon, Laura, Zach, Christopher, Valerie, Joey, Rena, Tristan, Russell Jr., Christa, Dante, Brian, Kevin, Nicole, Erin, Anthony, Rachel, Megan and Emily. When they see the Queen of Hearts they will know Nana is smiling down on them.
She also leaves behind six great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and her dear friends from Bingo.
She did the best she could always pushing to the limits.
A special thank you to Sue and Skip Koch, who became family members over the last five years. We would also like to thank, Dr. Roseann Brady and Dr. Ashby Jordan and his associates for doing everything they could for our mother.
“If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudice against my fellow man. Give my sins to the devil. Give my soul to God. If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed and word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.”
In lieu of flowers, memorials to a children’s fund of your choice.