Jennie Roubal Obituary

Jennie Naumczik Roubal
Died: December 18, 2021 in Willowbrook, IL
Jennie was born into eternity on December 18, 2021, joining her husband and life-long love, Jan K. Roubal, with whom she was married for 40 years, until his death in 2000. She lived independently at home until her death at 94 years of age. She was a remarkably strong woman, not just physically, but also in spirit and faith.
Jennie will be dearly missed by her daughters, Michelle Roubal, Heidi (Ernest) Pawelczyk, and Kathryn (Mitchell) Mazzone; her grandchildren, Ernie, Andrew, Sabrina and Mason; her brother, James Naumczik; numerous nieces and nephews, and her many friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, George and Tatiana (Prokiew) Naumczik; her sisters, Anna Johnson, Alice Shultis, Olga Mispagel, and Mary Kistulenic; her brothers, John and George Naumczik; and half-brother, Joseph Kowbel.
Jennie was born Yevgenia in 1927 to immigrant parents from Belarus and Ukraine. As a child, her mother called her Genia. Her name was anglicized at school, and from then on she was Jennie, and nicknamed Jay by her many close friends and family.
She was a smart and determined woman, the first in her family to earn a Bachelor's degree (University of Illinois,1951). A woman ahead of her time, she went on to a career which moved from a start as a factory secretary to that of vice president of the catering firm she owned with her husband, a certified executive chef.
Jennie possessed a great love of the arts, particularly opera and ballet, and spent many happy hours listening to music, attending performances, and dancing with her husband in her kitchen weekend mornings to polkas. With her sharp intellect, she enjoyed completing quizzes, crossword puzzles and games such as Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Scrabble.
She relished travel and as a young woman took sightseeing trips with her dear friends Helen and Lorraine. Once married, Jennie and Jan would pack up the kids in the family station wagon for road trips to everywhere from Michigan to Manitoba. Before his death, she travelled with her husband and family to visit his birthplace in Plze?, CZ. Later in life, she enjoyed visiting Helen in Colorado for road trips to Durango, Mesa Verde and Montana.
She loved children, beginning with her own younger siblings, and then her nieces and nephews, developing close bonds with Blanche, Darlene, Evie, Ralphie, and Bonnie, among others. As a mother to her own children, she instilled in them a love of reading and a drive for education. She was creative and sporty, engaging her girls in everything from crafting to ice skating. After her husband passed, she dedicated herself to helping to care for and nurture her beloved grandchildren, especially her grandson Ernie, who has special needs.
Jennie married Jan in 1960 in her family's faith, Russian Orthodox. After marriage, she took her husband's Lutheran faith and became a life-long member of Grace Lutheran Church (LaGrange). A service celebrating her life and memory will be held there on Tuesday, January 4th, 2022 at 11 am. Internment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations which assisted her family in helping her grandson:
Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley
830 South Addison Avenue, Villa Park, IL 60181-1153
630.620.4433
https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/ways-to-give/
SEASPAR (South East Association for Special Parks And Recreation)
4500 Belmont Road, Downers Grove, IL 60515
630.960.7600
https://www.seaspar.org/