Patricia Caroline Kragie, 90, died on June 9, 2021. Born to Thomas and Caroline “Gammer” Hayes on Nov. 18, 1930, she grew up with her sisters, Laverne and Phylis, in the city of Chicago. They spent their young years laughing, chasing boys, but always maintaining the highest marks in school.
In her adult years, she raised eight children in Oak Park on her own while earning her nursing degree at Lewis University. As a working registered nurse, she taught at the Triton Nursing School, and was a traveling nurse who helped out-of-state areas that were in need of someone like her. She was often asked, “How do you do it? How do you stay so strong, raising this huge family all on your own?” She would reply, “It’s not strength. It’s love. And love makes it easy.”
Pat “Granny” Kragie is survived by five of her eight children, William, Linda, Laura, Michael, and Mary Pat. She was preceded by her other three children, Lawrence, Denise, and Thomas. The title “Granny” was given by her grandchildren, Shiela, Ryan, Alex, Brigette, William, Jonathan, and Christopher, who were lucky enough to have felt her unequivocal love and support throughout their lives.
While she was humble about most things, she loved to brag about her great-grandchildren, Elon, Jonah, Drew, Wyatt, and Emerich. She would look at pictures and ask, “My goodness, how did I get so lucky?”
A devout Catholic throughout her life, she prayed for safety, protection, and happiness for her family, which asks that you please donate to a charity of your choosing, just as Granny donated to a variety of charities because, as she put it, “it’s the right thing to do, and we can do it.”
Family and friends of Patricia Kragie will be welcomed on Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. for a memorial Mass at Ascension Church, 808 S. East Ave. in Oak Park. A celebration of her life will be held immediately following the Mass to share the love she never lost.
