Mary J. "Jackie" Waskiewicz

Mary Jacquelyn “Jackie” Waskiewicz, 79, of Rockford passed away Friday, August 11, 2017 in her home surrounded by her family. Born May 1, 1938, the daughter of John and Marjorie (Morey) Downey. Jackie attended a one room school house in Woodbine, Illinois, where she walked 5 miles to school, going through a field of horses and cows and then went through a farm yard with a mean dog before she hit the gravel road on which to walk to school. When her family moved to Rockford, she attended St. Patricks grade school, graduating in 1953 and then attended Muldoon Catholic High School, graduating in 1957. Jackie wrote an essay in which she won first place and received a one year scholarship to Muldoon. She worked at the Auburn Theater and the Dixie Dress Shop to help pay her Muldoon tuition. After graduating, she was employed by Illinois National Bank. She was very active in sports: running, baseball, basketball and ice-skating. Jackie married Richard Eugene Waskiewicz on June 7, 1958 in St. Patricks Catholic Church. She managed Off Highway Employees Credit Union, which merged with First Northern Credit Union, retiring in July 2007 after 29 years. She loved bowling, reading, gardening, gambling and traveling. Her most enjoyable trip was a 15 day tour of Europe in June 2008 with her daughter, Denise. Tracing her ancestors was also a favorite hobby. Jackie was a lifelong Girl Scout volunteer, serving on the Girl Scout Board for 28 years, serving as President from 1995 to 2001 and receiving the Northern Illinois Girl Scout Hall of Fame Award in 2016. She was a registered Girl Scout for over 50 years. She also served on the United for Youth Board as Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair for 7 years. Jackie belonged to a Bible Study group, Prairie Friends Garden Club, Domino Club, Muldoon Luncheon group, Girls’ card club group since high school and a couples’ card group for many years.
Lovingly survived by her children, Denise (Ron) Carey, Steven (Beth) Waskiewicz and Kathleen (Kevin) Johnson; her grandchildren, Lisa, Nicole, Ryan, Andrew, Amiee, Devin, Dylan, Karissa and Kyla; great-grandchildren, Jeremiah, Ayden and Lillian; siblings, Gerald “Jerry” Downey, Patricia Strickland and Madeline Ash. Predeceased by her husband, Richard in 1998 and infant brother, John Downey.
Funeral mass will be at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at St. Bernadette Catholic Church. Visitation will be on Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and will continue on Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., all at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Riverside Chapel. Burial in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. To express online condolences, please visit: www.fitzgeraldfh.com