Palatine mourns loss of former mayor's widow
The Rev. Gregg Gorczyca said Aida Guss was the expression of love and forgiveness, and urged a gathering of nearly 200 mourning friends and family to move beyond their anger over the circumstances of her unexpected death.
"I think Aida would have wanted that," the associate pastor at St. Theresa Parish said Monday at Guss' funeral Mass.
The widow of former Palatine Village President Robert J. Guss Jr., Aida Guss was a devout Catholic and well-known figure at the church, attending 6:30 a.m. Mass everyday. It was on her daily walk there that the active 73-year-old was struck by a truck while crossing Northwest Highway at the Benton Street intersection.
Gorczyca said he has spoken with the driver, who expressed deep sorrow over the incident. Palatine police said Monday the man hasn't been charged or cited.
Though Gorczyca touched on the details of Guss' death, he mostly celebrated her life and the countless ways she affected her community. A resident of Palatine for 45 years, Guss was a grade-school teacher and taught CCD (religion) classes at St. Theresa.
Guss also put her talent for sewing to good use, working for the nearby St. Joseph Home for the Elderly run by Little Sisters of the Poor. Several nuns attended the funeral.
"We'll always remember her as a loving, warm, beautiful, intelligent and very determined and strong-willed lady who touched many lives with her kindness, understanding and personality," Gorczyca said.
Guss was married for 49 years until Robert Guss' death in 2007. They owned the Village Cobbler shoe stores in Palatine and Barrington and Gorczyca said Guss influenced many of her late husband's decisions while he was village president from 1977 to 1985.
Among those in attendance was former Mayor Rita Mullins, whose daughter, Amber, is married to one of Guss' eight children.
Above all else, Gorczyca said Guss was the ultimate stay-at-home-mom. She loved spending time with her 25 grandchildren, who together led the presentation of the gifts portion of Mass.