Nancy Joanne Czarnik, longtime Elk Grove Village trustee, lived life with gusto

Longtime public servant Nancy Joanne Czarnik, who lived life with gusto and served her beloved Elk Grove Village as a trustee for 32 years, died Sunday. She was 81.

"The village was her passion," said her son, Frank Czarnik. "Elk Grove was good to her and she was good to Elk Grove."

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson described Nancy Czarnik as "an institution in this village." Johnson said he worked with her his entire tenure and sought her advice even after she retired.

"No one ever had an ill word about Nancy Czarnik," said Johnson, who described her as an Elk Grove icon. "She was that well-loved and respected. She will be sorely missed."

When it came to serving the village she called home for 54 years, partisan politics was never a factor, her son said.

"She was a true peacemaker," Czarnik said, making policy decisions based on what she believed was best for the community.

A member of the Kenneth Young Center board of directors for eight years and chairwoman for the Elk Grove Parade Committee, Czarnik shared her passion for volunteering with her late husband Frank Czarnik, who served as an Elk Grove Park District commissioner, their son said.

The high school sweethearts married in 1963 and moved to the village five years later, he said.

She began her political life on the planning commission. Appointed to the village board to complete a trustee's term, she ran for reelection and won, Czarnik said.

"She won every cycle," he said. "She was always the highest vote-getter."

An avid reader and a keen card player with a passion for bridge, Nancy Czarnik also loved to travel. Three days after retiring as trustee in November 2021, she was on her way to Atlanta to visit her son, Carl, Czarnik said.

"After my dad passed, she kept going," Frank Czarnik said. "She said she was going to travel until she couldn't travel anymore."

Her proudest accomplishments were the establishment of a village nurse to check on senior residents needing assistance and the creation of the four-way interchange at Arlington Heights Road and I-90, Czarnik said.

She will be dearly missed, always loved and never forgotten, he said, adding "right now, she's dancing with my dad."