Wanda Josephine Homoly

Wanda Josephine Homoly, nee Kanikula was born on June 3, 1923 in Cicero, IL to Peter and Josephine Kanikula, nee Adamczyk, of Poland. Wanda was the 6th of 9 children and grew up in the home hand built by her father in the Cicero area. She was a young girl during the Great Depression which shaped her perspective throughout her life. Wanda was an active member of the “lively Starlite Social Club” in the late 30’s / early 40’s and graduated from Morton High School in 1940. Multiple signings in her yearbooks refer to her as “a real swell girl”. Wanda met the love of her life, Ernest (Ernie) Steven Homoly, from just a few blocks away. Ernie was a strapping young man of Hungarian heritage and member of the “popular Rigmarole A.C. men”. Ernie proposed on Christmas Eve, 1941 and the announcement was made at Christmas dinner with both families present. They were married on Valentine’s Day, 1943, while Ernie was on leave from the service during World War II. Ernie was in the Signal Corp stationed in the South Pacific near Australia and New Guinea. They sent hundreds of love letters and post cards back in forth while he was overseas. Their first son Clarke (Karen) was born while Ernie was serving and many cards were addressed to his nicknames for her, “Butch” or “Wandy” and Clarke. Ernie was wounded on the Pacific front and returned home in 1945. They bought a home in Elmhurst at 815 Poplar Ave and went on to have Bonnie (Art), Guy (Sally), and Paul (Lisa). Wanda and Ernie raised their family during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. She loved big family gatherings, especially the big family Christmas parties from both sides of the family. Along the way, Wanda worked as a secretary at Immaculate Conception and York High Schools. She was known to have impeccable spelling skills and only computers could replace her editing ability. After a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Ernie passed away in 1981. Wanda continued to live in the Elmhurst home and devoted her time to her grandkids: Amy & Steve (Clarke), Shelly, Ben, & Aaron (Bonnie), Andy & Casey (Guy), and Adam & Kristen (Paul). Wanda was affectionately known as Baka (like her mother) and was known to build tree houses, play hundreds of rounds of golf (mainly looking for golfballs in the rough), and do about anything the grandkids wanted to do. Her “junk drawer” in the kitchen was legendary, as just about anything could be created from that drawer. The grandkids eventually started having great grandkids and they too were treated to Baka’s loving attention. Even in her early 90’s, Baka would attend day long basketball tournaments to watch her great granddaughter play, cheering enthusiastically all day long. A stroke in 2015 forced Wanda to move into an assisted living center. Her son Guy and Sally had retired to Arizona and they brought her to Surprise, AZ for her remaining years. Despite numerous health issues, Wanda was always the life of the party and a favorite of her nurses. She always maintained a cherry, optimistic attitude and practically put on a standup comedy performance for her great grandkids on a visit this past December (despite having just broken
her shoulder). Unfortunately, her health deteriorated after the fall and she passed away on February 5, 2022 at the age of 98. She is preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Al, Frank, Ted, Sophie, Harry,Peter and her grandson Ben. She is survived by her sisters Dorothy and Roseanne, her 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and numerous great grandchildren. She lived a wonderful life and as her grandchildren Andy & Casey have said, “we only got to have one grandparent, but we got the best.” Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 17th from 9am to 1pm with a funeral service to be held at 11:00 a.m. at the Gibbons Funeral Home at 134 S. York St. (½ mile North of St. Charles Road), Elmhurst. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that you please donate to your favorite charity in her honor. For a full obituary and funeral information please call 630-832-0018 or www.gibbonsfuneralhome.com