Mundelein loses a business matriarch

The matriarch of one of Mundelein's oldest businesses until it closed earlier this year, Bonnie J. Abernathy was as much a fixture in town as the department store she and her family ran.

Abernathy volunteered at Santa Maria del Popolo Church and its school, was part of the Mundelein MainStreet downtown merchant group, served as a Cub Scout den mother and worked with many other local organizations.

But she was perhaps best known for the Park Street store that bore her name, an operation she helped run for nearly 59 years.

Abernathy died Thursday at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. She was 84.

Born in Chicago, Abernathy graduated from Indiana University in 1946.

Abernathy and her late husband, George, founded and ran the eponymous store. She once owned the Corner Health Foods store in Mundelein.

A funeral Mass was said today for Abernathy. Interment followed at Ascension Cemetery in Libertyville.

Abernathy's survivors include: 10 children, a brother, a stepsister and 18 grandchildren.

Instead of flowers, memorials can be sent to the Nature Conservancy, 8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 900, Chicago, Ill., 60603.