Maria Lynn Rafa

Maria Lynn Rafa, 67, (February 3, 1958 – October 18, 2025), died peacefully at home in Chicago after a battle with metastatic ovarian cancer. She grew up in the Pilsen neighborhood on the Lower West Side of Chicago, two doors down from her grandparents Antonina and Joseph Konieczny, who raised thirteen children, and across the street from St. Adalbert Catholic Church and School, which she attended. She studied computer science at DePaul University after attending Alvernia High School and the University of Chicago where she majored in geography. This led to a lengthy career with JP Morgan Chase Bank, where she completed her career as Vice President, Consumer Banking Product Manager and Deposits Subject Matter Expert.

Maria was preceded in death by her parents Stanley and Victoria (Konieczny) Rafa and her grandparents, Joseph and Antonina (Pajak) Konieczny, and Longin and Angeline (Zielinski) Rafa. While an only child, Maria had forty first cousins, survived by many of them and aunts Dorothy (Konieczny) Dumelle and Jean Rafa. The large and loving Jakubowski family also considered her another sibling. Their father Al Jakubowski was a great friend of Stanley Rafa. Maria leaves behind many close friends, including Vickie Dorgan and Susan Delgado. Maria was sustained by the incredible support given to her by Veena Sindgi, Lourdes Gandy and her many Chase colleagues in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio and Hyderabad, India.

Maria expressed strong opinions on food, politics and beauty. She savored Italian food and Southern cooking but hated mushrooms and cheese (unless it was on pizza). She enjoyed intense television dramas like Succession, The Sopranos, and The Wire as well as old Hollywood movies such as It Happened on 5th Avenue. Maria was well-read on current affairs and held many spirited discussions with cousin-in-law Wally Podrazik on politics, media and entertainment. She loved glamming things up with hair, makeup and Louis XIV furniture at the family home she had renovated from its origins as a turn-of-the-century candy store. In 1990 Maria completed a one-year improv training course at Players Workshop of The Second City culminating in an ensemble performance on The Second City mainstage.

Maria loved to travel, especially to her favorite cities: New York and Paris. Theatre weekends in Manhattan with her friends Vickie Dorgan and Dolores Kunda were a staple for many years. She visited Puerto Rico and Aruba and took epic road trips with roommate Michele Playfair; explored Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France with the Jakubowski sisters Anina and Donna; completed a heritage trip to Poland with her Konieczny and Pajak cousins; and traveled to China with Chase friends Cathy Smith, Lingling Chow and Carla Crnkovic. One of her last international trips took her to France, Belgium, and Germany with the Dumelle sisters, Grace, Margo and Lili.

Maria is survived by her cherished miniature dachshunds LouLou and Linus. She was loyal to the breed, helping raise beloved family pet Schultz and as an adult welcoming Samantha, Mia, Coco and Isabella into her home. She also worked with neighbors to foster several feral cat litters in Pilsen. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org), PAWS Chicago (www.pawschicago.org), or your local animal shelter.

Service:

Saturday November 22, 2025

Ascension Catholic Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304

Visitation 9 am, Memorial Mass 10 am

The mass will livestream on the Ascension Church YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@AscensionChurchYouTube

Arrangements entrusted to Chicagoland Cremation Options in Schiller Park, Illinois.

Maria’s ashes will be scattered in a place she considered beautiful: under a majestic maple tree on her cousin’s land in southwest Michigan.