Caroline Jean Downs (Lyczak), 75, a psychotherapist and longtime resident of Oak Park, died on March 15, 2022 at Rush Medical Center. She grew up on her family’s farm outside Woodhull, Illinois, and graduated from Alwood High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and a Master of Social Work degree from Smith College in Massachusetts.
She worked in Chicago as an intern and at what was then Billings Hospital at the University of Chicago. Early in her career, she provided drug and alcohol counseling to employees of U.S. Steel’s South Works plant in South Chicago. She went on to maintain a private practice on Michigan Avenue for more than 30 years and in 1987 joined the staff of Cathedral Counseling Center. A dedicated clinician, she participated in many professional development activities and was known for her practical, pithy wisdom. Deeply devoted to her clients, many of whom remained with her for years, she was still working at the time of her death. Her hearty laugh and wonderful cinnamon rolls will be missed.
She was committed to social justice and active in progressive politics. She met her future husband, Michael Lyczak, when both were working on the campaign of the late Rudy Lozano, who ran to become Chicago’s first Mexican-American alderman in 1982. She also worked on Betty Van Wyk’s campaign for Oak Park Township Clerk in the mid-1980s, contributing to an upset victory.
She enjoyed reading, playing and studying piano, challenging crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and cooking and entertaining. She took a keen interest in family history and twice traveled to the island of Islay in Scotland, home of her ancestors.
Caroline and Michael were married in 1984 and later welcomed a son, Michael Benjamin Lyczak. They survive her, as does her sister, Mary Elizabeth Dickerson. She was preceded in death by two brothers, Duncan and Thomas Downs.
Services are set for 2 p.m., Saturday, April 30, at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, 405 S. Euclid Ave., Oak Park.
