Catherine Polarek (86) of Effingham

Catherine Polarek, 86, of Effingham, IL, passed away on Thursday, January 2, 2025 at HSHS St Anthony's Hospital in Effingham.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, January 10, 2025 at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Effingham. Burial will be in St. Anthony Cemetery in Effingham. Visitation will begin with a 5:00 p.m. rosary and conclude at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 9, 2025 at Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham. In lieu of flowers and gifts, memorials may be made to St Anthony Church or School. Online condolences may be shared by clicking here. 

Catherine was born on June 23, 1938 in Chicago, IL, the daughter of Jim and Margaret (Gleasner) Ormrod. Catherine attended Aquinas, Watervliet, South Shore, and Thornton Township High Schools. She married the love of her life, Kenneth Polarek, on June 22, 1957 at St. Brides Catholic Church in South Chicago, IL. Mom was a stay-at-home mother who (with Dad) loved and raised 5 kids (Lisa, Laura, Ken, Mary Beth and Michelle) in a Christ-centered home, making ends meet while still allowing each of us siblings the opportunities we sought as we grew up. Mom taught us practical ways to be economical, which served us well with our own families, especially in these tougher times. She encouraged a very high work ethic from all of us (most of us having jobs by the age of 14 or 15), expected us to figure out the logistics of transportation to said jobs (as in bike) since we had a single station wagon available to share for most of our school age years, but then solidly trusted us as we each became drivers and could transport the younger ones, giving us confidence that extended well beyond our driving ability. She taught us responsibility for ourselves and others and why it was important to always give back. Mom’s generosity extended to family, friends, and also complete strangers – such as bringing tea parties to shut-ins to combat loneliness within her church community. When we moved to Effingham from Chicago, my parents only knew one family here but Mom made it her job to get everyone in the family involved: either in the neighborhood, school, sports, our church or their Cursillo groups or Dad’s new co-workers’ families. Mom was a fiercely loyal friend so, although she kept the ties to their lifelong friends back in Chicago close, she showed all of us about building a loving community in our new hometown. Mom was one of the rocks of my parents’ “22 Club” – a group of 12 friends brought together when they discovered that all 6 couples were married on the 22nd of June (like Mom and Dad) and they have continued the yearly trips, visits or meals celebrating the blessing of marriage for 42 years! She also taught us about courage. Despite being the new family on the block, she took a stance about the wisdom of instituting uniforms in our grade school and didn’t back down when a majority disagreed; she stuck to her convictions. As unpopular as her belief was, we learned from her actions to always stand up for what you believe in. Mom was also very patriotic (like her Mom). She loved her Catholic faith (and her church community) which gave all of our family our moral base and provided us our shelter during the difficult times of many medical crises and deep losses in our family. Over the years, Mom never forgot to honor family members passed on to their final reward nor missed a chance to celebrate the birthday of her many grandchildren, family and friends, if just with a phone call to let them know she was thinking of them, especially in recent years when she was unable to travel. Speaking of her grandchildren, she was so proud of each and every one of them and was in their corner with her love and support through thick and thin, despite generational differences where they might not think Grandma knows best. She was our matriarch. Our beloved Mother and Kenneth’s forever love. We will miss her from the bottom of our souls.

Catherine is survived by her beloved husband, Kenneth, of Effingham; her children, Lisa Anderson (Mike Roche) of Manhattan, IL, Laura Didier of Effingham, Ken (Theresa) Polarek, Mary Beth McDonald of McDonough, GA, and Michelle (Bryan) Hieserman of Atlanta, GA; her grandchildren, Ryan (Emily), Nicholas (Amy), Jaclynn (Russ), Justin (Nicole), Megan, Abigail (Jesse), Victoria, Tara Rose, Ali, Elm (Chris), Meghan, Kenny, and Colin (Kathleen); her great-grandchildren, Sydney, Scout, Lily, Natalie, Chloe, Jayden, Marley, Aaro, Olivia, Violet and Thomas; brother, William (Debbie) Ormrod; brother-in-law, David Polarek; sister-in-law. Sandy Polarek; and many cherished nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Valerie Smith; brothers-in-law, Melvin Polarek and Donald Smith; sons-in-law, Wes Anderson and Brad McDonald; and grandson, Silas Jaxon Burdette.