Phyllis DeFrank

Phyllis DeFrank, age 93, of St. Charles, formerly of Plainfield and Lisle, passed away Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at Brighton Gardens of St. Charles with her loving family by her side.

She was born January 2, 1929, in Chicago, the daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth (Zurla) Lonigro.

Phyllis was loving, well-read, with a great dry wit.  She enjoyed reading, movies - especially “The Godfather” series, required viewing whenever it was on! - and the music of Sinatra and Billie Holliday. For 20 years until her 1996 retirement, she worked as an executive assistant to Deans Phyllis Kittel and Marvin Camburn at Benedictine University in Lisle, a job she loved.

Phyllis and husband Mike were well-traveled, counting amongst their destinations Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, South America, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Their two standout trips were a 1988 Bahamas cruise with granddaughter Angelina, and a 1994 trip to Europe with son John and his wife, Sandra. Those trips provided lifelong stories and hundreds of laughs!

She is survived by her daughter Michelle Babicz of Geneva; granddaughter Angelina Babicz of Batavia; brother Nick (Rosemarie) Lonigro of Villa Park; daughter-in-law Sandra DeFrank of Elk Grove Village; brother-in-law Thomas Stahulak of Woodridge; and many other dear relatives and friends.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, son John, sister Marie Stahulak, and her loving husband Michael who passed away in 2008.

A visitation for Phyllis will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2022 from 9:00 am until the time of her funeral service at 11:00 am at Malone Funeral Home, 324 E. State Street (Route 38), Geneva. 

Interment will follow at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate - click on “Donate in Tribute” or by phone 1-800-708-7644 or by mail The Michael J. Fox Foundation, Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 would be appreciated.

For information 630-232-8233 or www.malonefh.com.

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