Julia D. Mannix, 67, of River Forest, died on Jan. 9, 2025. Born on June 12, 1957, to Gerald J. Mannix and Emily J. (Marinangeli) Mannix, she was the beloved step-daughter of Mary Schiltz.
She graduated magna cum laude from Boston College in 1979, majoring in Political Science and English, studied law at Northwestern University, graduating cum laude in 1982, then practiced law in Chicago for decades as a trial attorney. She was one of the founding partners of the law firm Davis, Mannix & McGrath.
Preternaturally capable, she excelled in sewing, knitting, crocheting and other crafts, threw outrageous parties, served her parish as a Eucharistic Minister and a volunteer religious education teacher, and shared her husband with the parish so he could serve as a deacon.
For 33 years, she loved living on Thatcher Road in River Forest, where they brought up their family. She was often on the sidelines of soccer fields, baseball diamonds and gyms throughout the state, cheering on her children and their teams.
Julia is survived by her husband, Robert J. Slobig; her children, Emily (Daniel) Kaminski, Brendan (Ashley) Mannix, Alannah (Thomas Edson) Mannix-Slobig, and Grace (Jeremy Stevens) Mannix-Slobig; her grandson, Morgan Mannix; her sisters, Ellen (James) Davidson, Colleen (John) Cates and Marin (Michael Bloomfield) Mannix; her nieces Lexe (Nate Tarvin) Davidson, Maggie (Aaron) Debow, Jackie (Analisa) Davidson, and nephews Jack Cates and Luke and Daniel Bloomfield; and her grand-nieces and -nephews James Tarvin, Elijah, Eve and Ezra Debow.
Visitation will be held at Salerno Galewood Chapel, 1827 N. Harlem Ave., Chicago, on Thursday, Jan. 16, from 4 to 8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, Jan. 17 at St. Luke Church in River Forest at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to Catholic Relief Services (crs.org), particularly for the hungry and those harmed by the wildfires around Los Angeles, or to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org).
The funeral Mass will be viewable on livestream at the parish’s website, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uZHvd5ma28.