Rose Ann O’Connor, 83, a retired registered nurse from Chicago’s Edgebrook community whose wisdom in the kitchen included always keeping the makings of a last-minute dinner party on hand, died Saturday, March 25, at Bromenn Health Care in Normal, Ill. “There was always a corn beef in the refrigerator for emergencies,” said her husband of 49 years, Donal J. “Everybody knew her for her meals. You could come over and she could fix that right up.” Born and raised one of seven children in Meire Grove, Minn., Mrs. O’Connor graduated from Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, Minn., in 1935. After receiving three years of nursing training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn., Mrs. O’Connor settled in Chicago and took a medical post with American Airlines. She later moved to Passavant Hospital, before marrying and starting a family. Returning to work several years later, Mrs. O’Connor took a nursing post at Skokie Valley Hospital, where she specialized in “tender, loving care,” her husband said. Mrs. O’Connor retired in the early 1980s. For much of the last two decades, she embraced another passion in her life: caring for her disabled granddaughter Leah, now 19. “Any excuse she had, on the drop of a hat, she would go down to Bloomington to spend time with Leah,” her husband said. In addition to her husband, Mrs. O’Connor is survived by three daughters, Eileen Kaser, Patty Garrison and Mary Joan Fechner; four sisters, Lidwina Stacey, Colette Gates, Mary Lou Harris and Marie Luetmer; three brothers, Henry, Al and Larry Luetmer; and four grandchildren. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 6150 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago. Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Queen of All Saints Basilica, 6280 N. Sauganash Ave., Chicago.
