Rose Marie (Pawlak) Kudlo

Rose Marie Kudlo, age 80, of Dyer, passed away Saturday, October 5, 2024. She is survived by her son Kenneth Kudlo, sister Phyllis (late Bradley) Palmowski, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Ronald E. Kudlo, sister Arlene, and brother Frank.

Services will be held at the Fagen-Miller Funeral Home, 8580 Wicker Ave in St. John, on Sunday, October 13, 2024 with visiting from 2 pm until the time of service at 5 pm.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Rose Marie Kudlo on October 5th 2024.  Rose was born in an ethnically Polish enclave on the South Side of Chicago which is where her strong sense of tradition originated.

Shortly after graduating from St. Michael’s High School in 1962, she married the love of her life Ronald, who she first met on the dance floor of a Polka dance at Marquette Gardens on 83rd street.

Fittingly enough, two years later at their wedding reception in May of 1964, they had their first dance as man and wife on that very same dance floor.

Shortly after having their first and only child in Chicago they decided to move out of the congested city and purchased their first home together in quiet suburban South Holland Illinois which is where they raised their son.

Their idyllic existence was soon shattered when a tragic cancer diagnosis struck her husband who at the time was an Electrical Engineer designing the control systems of nuclear power plants. Without hesitation, she rose to the occasion by returning to the workforce.

After earning a Business degree and graduating from Chicago’s Prestigious Roosevelt University Paralegal program, she went on to build a sterling legal career working in some of the world’s largest and most prestigious law firms including KIRKLAND & ELLIS in the Amoco Building and later SNR Denton US LLP in the Sears Tower / Willis Tower.

It was at these firms while focusing on Environmental Law that she had worked on such Historical Landmark cases as the Exxon Valdez disaster and the massive Hurricane Katrina litigation which are today studied in textbooks.

Interestingly enough one cannot look at a picture of Chicago’s skyline without seeing the towering skyscrapers in which she built her reputation.

After leaving the fast pace of Chicago’s Loop and moving to Indiana, she wrapped up her legal career by proudly serving the roughly half million residents of Lake County by working in the Lake County Indiana Superior Court.

One of her favorite quotes was by Robert Anderson who is credited with saying, “Death ends a life, but it does not end a relationship”

God willing for all that knew and loved her, that holds true!

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