Lynn Ann Galuska Elsen, 68, of Oak Park, died peacefully on May 21, 2025 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s with her family by her side. Born in Chicago on Dec. 24, 1956, she was the third eldest of Raymond and Stella Galuska’s four children: Raymond (Connee) Galuska, Denise (Paul) Rexroat, and Ellen (Robert) Paulson. She grew up in St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Oak Lawn and attended Mount Assisi High School. While completing her nursing degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she met her husband Michael. After their marriage in 1981, they moved to Oak Park, which offered a diverse community for the family they planned.
Over the next 45 years, she remained actively involved in the Oak Park community, attending St. Catherine-St. Lucy’s Church weekly, where she was an integral member of the choir. She was also a founding member and trustee for WSSRA (West Suburban Special Recreation Association), an organization in which her son Ian was an enthusiastic participant.
In 1980, she became a high-risk OB nurse at Prentice Hospital in Chicago and dedicated the next 40 years to caring for and serving women at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. While at Northwestern, she helped found TLC (Together In the Loss of a Child), a grief support group that she led for over 20 years. She ended her career as a Nurse Navigator at the Lynn Sage Breast Center. In 2020, she received the Nora Cooney Mara Compassionate Care Award for her extraordinary level of care. She offered guidance, friendship and compassion to her colleagues and patients.
She and her partner to Michael cherished their simple, joyful life, celebrating their anniversaries in Door County, camping or staying in bed-and-breakfasts and enjoying cherry pie at fish boils. On the dance floor, they were a perfect pair, with Michael spinning her around as if they existed in their own world.
She chose to work evening shifts while Michael worked days, ensuring their children could spend as much time as possible with both parents. She shared special bonds with each of her children, attending all of Ian’s Special Olympics events and initiating the process for him to join Misericordia. She was an avid reader and knitter. She enjoyed cheering on the Cubs and the Bears with her sons. Lynn loved spending time with her grandchildren and cherished her many lifelong friendships. She was a keeper of all things.
Lynn was the wife of Michael; the mother of Katharine (Patrick) Klette, Michael (Beth) Elsen, and Ian Elsen; and grandmother to Lydia, Wesley, Arabella, Maeve, Theo, and Hugh.
Visitation was held at Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Road, Westchester on May 27. The funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church, 38 N. Austin Blvd., Oak Park on May 28. Interment private.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to Misericordia Heart of Mercy in Ian Elsen’s name (www.misercordia.com).