Mary Ash

Caroline Ash, as she was known to family and friends, defied the odds from the very beginning. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a young teenager, she was told she might not live past 50. Instead, she filled 81 years with laughter, adventure, and love of friends and family. Her final several years were a special gift, made possible by a kidney transplant generously given by her cousin, Bill Ash.

Hospitality was both her profession and her joy. She built a long and fulfilling career in food service operations and management at The Chicago Bar Association and the Attic Club, earning the respect of her employees as a go-getter who was always pitching in and treating each person with value.

Caroline was the life of every gathering. Her surprise 40th birthday party- where she made her debut as a “debutante”- set off a legendary string of themed parties. Friends looked forward to her election-night parties and backyard barbecues in her Albany Park home. She also loved summer picnics in Millennium Park during Grant Park Symphony Orchestra concerts, shared with her “lawn lady” friends.

She had a gift for making friends and had many enduring friendships. Her Saturday morning breakfast club, started over 50 years ago, continues to meet today. Friends loved her sassiness, spontaneity and humor. Caroline loved to tell jokes- and told them well- but her funniest tales were the incidents that really happened, including pranks (sometimes inappropriate) that caught friends off-guard. She was always quick to laugh at herself.

Travel was another lifelong passion. She created an “imaginary travel company,” Hudson Travel, arranging excursions for friends that began with visits to hometowns like Downingtown, Pennsylvania, in Chester County, where she grew up and graduated from Downingtown High School in 1962. Her journeys took her aboard the QE2 and across the globe to the UK, China, Egypt, Kenya, and Turkey. Her final adventure was a Civil Rights trip through Alabama with her niece, Carole just last year.

Caroline also devoted herself to civic life. She was a longtime devoted board member of the Three Arts Club, joining a small group of women determined to preserve and save the historic building from destruction and keep its artistic mission alive.

Caroline delighted in the freedom of two wheels, commuting by bicycle to work long before it was common and zipping through Chicago on her beloved motor scooter “Emma Rhonda Honda”. She was known to park her bike outside a grand hotel just to sneak into a beautiful hotel pool for a quick swim before work. Her bicycle was also her faithful companion on many less glamorous trips- including frequent visits to traffic court necessitated by her creative parking habits.

Caroline is survived by her niece, Carole Whittaker Ahmed (Nazim); nephew Robert Ash Whittaker (Liz); great-nieces Mariam Ahmed (Chase), Sarah Doran (John), and her namesake, Caroline Whittaker (Mimi); great-nephews Adam Ahmed (Phaemie) and Charles Whittaker (Joanna); and eight great-great nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held soon.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Chester County Hospital Foundation, West Chester, PA for the Out-Patient Diabetes Education Program.