Final victim of Hoffman Estates stabbings laid to rest

Marlene Gacek's loved ones knew her as generous, loving, gregarious and happy.

So as they gathered for the 73-year-old woman's funeral Mass Friday in Hoffman Estates - two weeks after she was killed in her home along with her son-in-law and granddaughter - they struggled to celebrate her life while still trying to come to terms with the tragic circumstances of her death.

"We realize full well in a sense we are here because of a senseless tragedy," the Rev. John Guiney said. "But we are not going to dwell on that this morning."

The Mass at St. Hubert Catholic Parish was the second in as many days for the grieving family. Thursday, they buried Gacek's son-in-law, 57-year-old Alan Engelhardt, and his youngest daughter, 18-year-old Laura.

At St. Hubert's today, Gacek's granddaughter and Laura's sister, Amanda Engelhardt, cradled her 8-month-old daughter in her arms. The baby's father, 20-year-old D'Andre Howard, also of Hoffman Estates, remains jailed without bond, charged with the three killings.

The service itself, though, focused on Gacek's outgoing personality and loving nature. Guiney spoke of her affinity for playing cards with friends.

"If you were one of 12 children, you would have to be gregarious and outgoing," Guiney said. "I would not want to be at Easter or Christmas or any Sunday the last person in line when it came time to eat."

Gacek was a retired real estate broker, a profession she worked in for more than 20 years.

"She said it like it was. She was a feisty lady. She was not a quiet mouse or anything," friend Lisa Math said in an earlier interview. She recalled Gacek's great sense of humor and ability to both dish it out and take it. "She always came across as being so happy."

Friend Mary Hennessy said she always wore a smile.

"She was such a great gal," she said. "She was just a giving and loving person. When you talked to her, you got a warm feeling."

Gacek grew up in Chicago, and friends said she endured a "a hard life." She was widowed and the mother of two girls, including Sandy, who has special needs. When Gacek retired, her extended family moved into her Hoffman Estates home, and she loved having them around. They even built an extension to the home for more room.

She was a woman who deeply loved her family and would make sacrifices. Whenever someone in the house needed a car, for example, she'd offer hers and take the bus or other public transportation.

"She was always family first. Her family was No. 1," said Hennessy, adding how excited Gacek was when her first great-grandchild, Amanda's daughter Stelliah Grace, was born last summer.

When Gacek's grandson Jeff Engelhardt was home from college, Gacek bought him a pass to the Campanelli YMCA in Schaumburg so they could work out together. She also spent a lot of time with Sandy, taking her to museums or movies, or driving her to her job at the nearby Jewel, friends said.

Gacek had recently returned to her Catholic faith, and had become active at St. Hubert, where she helped run the Catholics Returning Home program. She belonged to the church's Young at Heart senior group and was an avid reader. The church was where she played card games like Canasta every week with her friends.

Her friend Bea Sevcik of Glendale Heights remembered all of the hats Gacek crocheted, some of which she'd wear to their card games.

Three days a week, Gacek took a water aerobics class at the YMCA, where she and her classmates referred to themselves as "The Rusty Hinges" because most had some sort of hip or knee problem. The women in the class, and their teacher, Sherry Drake, regularly went to lunch afterward and attended some of the YMCA's social events as well. A large group from the YMCA attended Gacek's wake and funeral.

"That's how I remember her: always happy," said Patty Rosone, who works at the front desk at the YMCA and would talk to Gacek while she waited for the bus.

Jeff Engelhardt said his grandma used to spend hours listening to family members talk about their problems. The family depended that.

"She was the family psychiatrist, I guess," he said.

Gacek's daughter, Shelly, attended the funeral after being released on Sunday from the hospital with stab wounds she sustained in the attach that killed her husband, daughter and mother. When Shelly lost her job a few months ago, Gacek became a pillar of strength for the family. At church, she made a novena for Shelly that she'd find a new job, Sevcik said.

"They didn't know what they were going to do. But (Gacek) sat them all down and said, 'Don't panic. Everything's going to be fine.' She's a very strong person," Sevcik said. "She was always concerned about everybody. When you needed someone, you could call her and she was always there."