Dolores “Lorrie” McMahon Michael, 87, died peacefully on March 25, 2024. She lived most of her life in the same house, a two-story, square brown-brick home built by her father on the north side of River Forest from plans he purchased at the Chicago World Fair of 1933. While her siblings attended the local Catholic school, several blocks away, young Lorrie, due to an asthmatic condition, was offered the shorter walk to Willard Elementary, just across the street to the public school.
She attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and took pride in being a DOOPer, a “Dear Old Oak Parker.” She studied at Marquette University in Wisconsin, where she met Tom. After she graduated, they married at her hometown parish of St. Vincent Ferrer. They lived briefly in San Antonio, where Tom attended Saint Mary’s University and completed his military training. The family returned to Chicago, eventually moving into her childhood home in River Forest in 1962.
The couple had seven children in 11 years and built a spirited and loving home, full of humor and chaos. She participated in community service, notably the Girl Scouts of America, where she was a district treasurer. She ensured that each of the seven children attended a different college and continued that with her grandchildren.
She ran the family finances and was smart and skeptical, with a strong dose of practicality. She painted what was drab, fixed what was broken, and recycled what was no longer useful. She wrote letters that were clever and concise, mixing ordinary details with insight.
She worked for many years for State Farm insurance offices and enjoyed trips with her sisters, Annie and Jody. Their busy social life, centered around their friends at the Oak Park Country Club (OPCC).
In mid-life she began an athletic career as a competitive curler, appearing on several championship teams for the OPCC and Wilmette Curling. She even tried out for the Winter Olympics. In summers, she complemented her curling with lawn bowling, where she was very active for decades with Lakeside Lawn Bowling in Chicago.
In August of 2023, she and Tom celebrated 64 years of marriage.
Lorries was the mother of seven children, Vincent Michael (Felicity Rich), Clare Bergquist (Steven), Maureen Michael, Sheila Krueger (Edward), Laura Michael (Anna Kramer), Tom Michael II (Katherine Shaughnessy), and Kevin Michael; grandmother of Michael Bergquist (Annie), Ingrid Bergquist, Martin Bergquist, Felicity Rich-Michael, Alexandra Rich-Michael, Patrick Krueger, Natalie Krueger, Zachariah O’Connell, Chalice Michael, Fiona Michael and Wyatt Michael; and the great-grandmother of Archie and Milo Bergquist.
She was predeceased by her parents, Vincent Purtell McMahon and Anne Fogarty McMahon; her older sisters, Mary Jane Kenefick White, Joanne Kenefick Timms, and Anne McMahon; her brother, Robert V. McMahon; and her grandson, Martin McMahon Bergquist.
Visitation will be held at St. Vincent Ferrer in River Forest on Thursday, April 4 from 9 to 10 a.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
Donations can be made in Lorrie’s name to Kiwanis Club River Forest-Oak Park and Marquette University.