'A pretty lucky lady': Rosanna Glueckert of family funeral business remembered in Arlington Heights
When Rosanna and John Glueckert weren't at their family funeral home in Arlington Heights, a social gathering or one of their grandkids' events, they likely were at their condo in Las Vegas, where John could handicap horse races at every thoroughbred racetrack across the country and Roe could play the slots.
"Mom loved casinos and playing slot machines and the whole atmosphere," said her daughter Jackie Glueckert. "She was a pretty lucky lady."
Following John's death in 2017, the Glueckerts are mourning the loss of their mother, who died Tuesday at Northwest Community Hospital after becoming ill Monday. She was 85.
The Glueckerts were college sweethearts who were married for 59 years after meeting at Northern Illinois University. Rosanna, a Berwyn native and graduate of Trinity High School, joined the Kappa Delta sorority at DeKalb, where she made lifelong friendships.
She followed John back to Arlington Heights, where his family had settled because of its involvement in the horse racing industry and the proximity to Arlington Park.
In the early days of their funeral home in the 1970s, Rosanna answered phones and worked visitations while John tended to other parts of the business.
"It's a family business. There wasn't a lot of help at that time," said Jackie Glueckert, now the office manager at the funeral home she runs with her brother John and sister Marcie.
After the Glueckerts bought the funeral home on the northeast corner of Vail Avenue and Northwest Highway in 1970, the business eventually grew, and they moved to their current location on Arlington Heights Road in 1987.
Rosanna became involved in a host of social and civic organizations in and around town, including the Arlington Heights Allied Arts Guild, Knights of Columbus Holy Rosary Council Ladies Auxiliary, and P.E.O. Chapter ER, a philanthropic organization for women. She also golfed in the St. James ladies league and bowled in the Sherwood ladies league for years.
"My mom was such a special person," Jackie Glueckert said. "She loved Arlington Heights and the community, and gave back as much as she could. She was always around in town."
The Glueckert kids now are busy preparing for their mother's funeral while they're doing the same for others.
"We have a great staff, and they have always pitched in and done everything they can to assist us. It is difficult, because we're so hands-on, and this week has been terribly busy," Jackie Glueckert said. "You're grieving yourself, but you still have to be there for your client families. Everyone's going through the same grief we're going through."
Visitation is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, 1520 N. Arlington Heights Road. The funeral will begin with prayers at the home at 10:15 a.m. Monday followed by an 11 a.m. Mass at St. James Catholic Church, 820 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.