Obituaries

Eileen Brosnan (nee McVerry) passed away and joined her late husband Dan on the 56^th anniversary of their wedding night on April 24, 2022. The family is very confident that her late dogs Chelsea, Katie, and Darbie were there to greet her too.

Eileen was born in Chicago to Mary and Patrick McVerry on August 25, 1945. After graduating from Alvernia High School she went on to study at DePaul University on a Betty Crocker/Latin Scholarship. She met her husband at the DePaul cafeteria and despite having a terrible first date, she gave him a second chance and thus began a lifelong love affair.

Eileen enjoyed hosting family parties for the whole McVerry gang. Whether she and Dan cooked the whole meal or had it catered, family parties at their home were always a hit. Family traditions were important to her, and she created a huge family cookbook with everyone’s favorite recipes in it, including her very famous chocolate cake. As her daughters, nieces, and nephews grew up and got married the Family Cookbook was presented to each of them. She also enjoyed making greeting and holiday cards from scratch for family and friends. She very much adored the Christmas holidays and began decorating the tree in October with Christmas music playing from Halloween through February. Her treasured Santa collection never left the shelves in the living room. Eileen was known to be quite determined and often got her way, and that same determination also helped her learn new things. Long before many even heard of a PC, Eileen was a wiz at navigating word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications – even during the days of floppy discs and when the concept of PC hard drives wasn’t even a twinkle in IBM’s eyes.

Eileen was predeceased by her husband Dan, parents Mary and Patrick McVerry, sister Carol Riesch, and brothers-in-law Paul Melkonian and Lou Riesch. She is survived by her sisters Mary (Frank) Rubino, Patsy (Charlie) Picardi, and Colleen Melkonian.

Eileen leaves behind a legacy of children, grandchildren, and her cherished dog Ralphie. Her daughters Collen (Christopher) Phelan, Maribeth (James) Tozewski, and Jennifer (Ervin Flores) Brosnan all carry the same love of hosting family get-togethers. Her cherished grandchildren Katherine, Megan, and Patick Phelan; Gabriella Tozewski; and Daniel and Ella Flores know many family tales by heart due to their grandma’s storytelling. She adored her many nieces and nephews as well.

The family would particularly like to thank Yasmin Kagzi M.D. for her excellent and thoughtful care of Eileen.

Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks to consider a donation on her behalf to Loyola Medicine with the designation of Heart Transplant Fund, ca cause very dear to Dan, Eileen, Colleen, Maribeth, and Jennifer. Go to or by mailing a check to Loyola Medicine Office of Philanthropy, Bldg. 115, Rm. 353, 2160 S. First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153.

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