Mary Kay was born on April 30 to Joe and Virginia Connelly and was the oldest of 2 girls. Mary Kay and her sister, Ginger, grew up with family dinners, holidays and Irish pride galore. Being raised in Chicago and being the oldest, Mary Kay spent a lot of time with her grandparents as well as her aunts: Mary Fran, Kay and Pat, and uncles: Jimmy and Jack – not to mention loved being the oldest of the cousins that were to come. Mary Kay often shared stories of “chocolate shake” talks with her aunts and silly joking with the uncles.
Mary Kay went on to build a life with her husband, Dave Duda, of whom she met on the dance floor; quite often the joke was that she crawled across the dance floor and begged him to dance. Whichever version you may buy into, Mary Kay and Dave had 6 beautiful children: Brian (Janet), Kevin (Patty), Jimmie (Donna), Dan (Deena), Michael (deceased), and Katie. Along with being a mother, Mary Kay was also blessed with being a Nana to 16 grandchildren: Megan (Don), Jackie (Will), Allie (Ryan), Nick, Breanna (Rick), David, Margaret (James), Carlie, Kayla, Isabella, Danny Jr., Jovani, Jack, Jaylen, Catherine & Faith, as well as “adopted” grandchildren: Katie (Matt), Sarah (Joe), and Joey Dalo. Mary Kay was never one to shy away from the opportunity to boast about being proud of her family and their funny commentary, act or most recent accolades, and it never failed that she would be quick to pull her phone out to show pictures of the whole brood. As if Mary Kay wasn’t blessed enough, she was beyond excited to meet and know her 3 great-grandchildren: Julian, Sophia and Brayden, each one in her mind and heart, adding perfection to the family dynamic.
Through the years Mary Kay was always one to throw a party to ensure everyone got together including but not limited to “sisters” (in-laws), “brothers” (in-laws), nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and extended family. She never failed to welcome all into her life and home as “family,” and quickly surrounded them with love and filled them with food and sweets. She genuinely loved to get to know people and was one to embrace them wholeheartedly without hesitation, as well as never failing to try and see the best that they had to offer.
She was of the Catholic faith and was actively involved in the Saint Hubert Catholic Church in Hoffman Estates, IL where she joined and headed several ministries, such as: Steward of St. Hubert, Parish Council, and Homebound Ministry, just to name a few. Upon relocating to Henderson, Nevada, Mary Kay quickly found herself nestling into Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church where her and her husband became regulars at 4:30pm mass and soon thereafter joined several ministries, Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary Council #13456, Saint Clare of Assisi Women’s Guild, and Homebound Ministry. Mary Kay prided herself on teaching Religious Education for well over 30 years and still going strong with the little ones up until months before her passing.
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