Jeannine Malwitz
Jeannine T. Malwitz, survived by her husband of nearly 68 years, Albert Malwitz; children: Janet Malwitz, Denise Malwitz, Alan Malwitz, Michelle McCall (Shawn McCall) and Jason Malwitz (Erin Malwitz). 14 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and a few grand dogs. Preceded in death by her parents Harold Clifford and Anna Clifford, brothers Harold and LeRoy, daughter, Carol Malwitz and one great grandchild.
Jeannine grew up in a house converted from a tavern in the neighborhood of Broadview, IL. The house was kooky but she liked it. Throughout her childhood she would challenge what was expected of her and forge her own path. She taught herself how to ride a bike and quickly excelled academically after starting first grade. She didn’t talk about her childhood often, but when she did it was clear that had been both fearless and a loyal friend. The friends she made in Broadview became life long friends that she still visited with in her 80’s. She always participated in school programs and her mom attended whenever she could. She would sing “Wind Through the Olive Trees” to her Grandpa Dapko. She loved her grandparents and enjoyed the time spent with them while growing up. When she was 17 she started dating Al, he bought her a birthday card and a compact on her birthday which won her over. They were married a year later, 2 days before her 18th birthday. They were married for nearly 68 years, raised 6 children together and found joy in joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Jeannine often expressed appreciation for the peace and stability she found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was immensely grateful for the Gospel teachings and proud of the dedication that she and her husband put into their faith in Jesus Christ. She loved the eternal perspective of the Gospel and wanted to share that joy with others. She would volunteer her time to complete family history and temple work for others and put family members on prayer rolls during their time of need.
Jeannine was funny and had a sense of humor that once you got it, the jokes never stopped. Jeannine and Al loved to prank each other. They both gave as good as they got. A few years ago Jeannine was picking Al up from the airport and she put on a medical face mask and a wig. She starts walking towards him and when he attempts to step around her she said “Don’t you recognize your wife?”. It shocked Al and they had a big laugh afterwards. To respond in kind Albert setup a plastic light-up Santa Claus decoration at Christmas time in a back bedroom. He put a timer on it so it would light up when he wasn’t around. Sometime in July, Jeannine was sitting by the pool and saw something in the window. It scared her, but when she figured out what it was she laughed about it.
Years ago, Jeannine was in a physical rehab facility, and she sat with another patient who kept asking, over and over, “Is that a new picture of George Washington?” It became a family joke when she left the facility. Two weekends ago, she was back in the facility, and as Al walked down the hall with her, he asked “Is that a new picture of George Washington?” Jeannine laughed and later he texted her the picture of George Washington and asked her again. They were married for 67 years and still had fun together. Al loved her desire for adventure and her sense of humor. Even when life was busy and hard they still laughed and enjoyed seeing the world together.
Jeannine and Al instilled a love for travel into their children. At first it was stateside and only places that could be reached by car, but transitioned to cruises and long flights by the time the eldest kids were teenagers. In total, Jeannine and Al visited all seven continents, 49 states, 141 countries enjoying countless adventures such as hot air ballooning over the African plains, sliding down waterfalls in Hawaii, and flying on the Concorde. Her favorite place to visit was the South Pacific. She loved cruises and was already booking another one before the laundry from the last trip was done. Jeannine took a lot of pictures when traveling. It was easy to feel like you’d gone on the trip with her. She was great at sharing stories and making you wish you were there. No matter where they traveled they made sure to send the kids beautiful postcards even after they became adults. Between the siblings they have hundreds of post cards saved. It was important to her to have them know she was thinking of them while on their trip. Jeannine was adventurous. When she visited a new place she wanted to experience it. At forty, she learned to water ski and slalom and became scuba certified. She even went zip lining in her 80s. There were very few things she wouldn’t try for the sake of adventure.
Jeannine loved family history and family stories. When talking about her family, she would share the harrowing and the brave while carefully weaving in the hardship that they persevered through. She completed her and her husband’s family trees the best she could. Jeannine wanted the family to be together whenever it was possible. She organized two big family reunions where 4 generations of family members were able to get together and be reacquainted. She arranged for family meals, boat rides, beach games and BBQs. It was important to her that the family knew each other. She loved having everyone in one place. She made time for everyone at the family reunions even though there were so many people.
For her 80th birthday, Al arranged for the family to gather together and celebrate her. Family being together brought her immense happiness and everyone was happy to be there for her.
One of the best Christmas memories was when the whole family came together in Salt Lake for Christmas. They rented a cabin where the youngest kids learned to ski, they took family photos, and enjoyed Grandpa’s prank of cutting down a Christmas tree in the front yard. She was horrified, but had a good laugh when she realized he had just planted it in the snow. During Christmas, when her kids were little, Jeannine would make hundreds of Christmas cookies. She would make the dough, freeze them and then on Christmas Eve, she would bake all of them. There had to have been 20 different types of cookies for all of them to eat.
As the youngest, she felt like she was left alone to her own devices. As she grew older, she made sure her family and friends never felt alone. Jeannine showed up in big and small ways for her family. She never forgot a birthday and always took care to find the perfect card for each person. She would fly across the country for graduations, baptisms, baby showers, funerals, and weddings. She often discounted the impact and importance she was having on the people she showed up for. The impact of the moments can’t be quantified, but were felt intensely. She had a way of making people feel loved and supported through everyday gestures. All of her grandkids and great grandkids felt like they were her favorite. Those are a lot of people she made feel special and loved while life was busy and chaotic. She never asked for anything in return, she just reached out and made you feel important. Simply saying she will be missed feels like a disservice – it minimizes the immense impact that she had on the people who will think of her on birthdays, random Tuesdays, and whenever they see a glowing Santa Claus.
Visitation Wednesday, October 1, 2025, from 3-8 PM at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine. Family and friends will meet Thursday, October 2, 2025 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2035 N. Windsor Drive, Arlington Heights, for visitation from 9 -9:45 AM. A Funeral Service will follow at 10 AM. Entombment Memory Gardens Cemetery.