Susan Cosgrove Obituary

Susan M. Cosgrove, nee Collison, 78, of Wheaton, passed away on September 6, 2024. Beloved wife of John P. Cosgrove; loving mother of Elizabeth Cosgrove, Emily (Christopher) Serb, Nicole (Matthew) Hildreth, John P. III "Jack" (Sarah Landis) Cosgrove, and Molly (Rhett) Kolbe; cherished grandmother of Ewan and Beckett Hildreth, Helen and Margaret Serb, Cora and Patrick Cosgrove, and Riley Kolbe; dear daughter of the late Milford and Burkharda Collison; cherished sister of Josephine Montalbano, the late Philip (Linda) Collison, and Nancy (Leon) Schulte; beloved daughter-in-law of the late John and Helen Cosgrove; fond sister-in-law of the late Mary Helen Land, the late Francis (Paula) Cosgrove, the late James (Jean) Cosgrove, Michael Cosgrove, Anne (Ed) Seimetz, Patricia (Michael) Dyra, Thomas (Audrey) Cosgrove; dearest aunt of many nieces and nephews.
Born on November 9, 1945 in Carroll, Iowa, Susan was the daughter of Milford and Burkharda "Toddy" (Beyer) Collison, who raised her and her siblings on the family farm outside of Arcadia, Iowa. She attended St. John School in Arcadia and later graduated from Kuemper Catholic High School in 1963. Sue went on to study at Clarke College in Dubuque, IA, studying abroad in Vienna, Austria, during her junior year at the Institute of European Studies, and the next year earning her bachelor's degree from Mundelein College in Chicago, IL. She stayed in Chicago upon graduating from Mundelein and met John Cosgrove through mutual friends. The two started dating and eventually married on May 16, 1970. The couple began their lives together by buying a home on Magnolia Street on the north side of Chicago and having their first three daughters. After a few years they made their home in Winfield and then eventually settled for good in Wheaton, where they had two more children. Sue spent her time raising her young children and keeping a wonderfully clean and beautiful home for her family. Sue opened a home day care business in 1988 which she ran with efficiency and love for 25 years. She was known for freely sharing her advice on homemaking and child-rearing, such as how best to fold a fitted sheet or how to get a cranky baby to nap for 3 hours. She loved a clean window and gladly offered to clean windows at homes of the people she loved. Sue was a devout Catholic and attended Saint Michael Church in Wheaton faithfully for 46 years. She said that her greatest joy was raising her five children and that saying goodbye to them in the end would be the hardest thing. Her wise child-rearing advice and lovely holiday gatherings will be greatly missed.
Visitation at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 from 3:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Prayers will be at the funeral home at 9:15 A.M. Thursday, September 12, 2024, then to St. Michael Catholic Church for Mass at 10:00 A.M. Interment St. Michael Catholic Cemetery.
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