Eileen M. West
Eileen M. West (nee Hannigan), age 83, of Downers Grove, formerly of Burr Ridge and LaGrange Park, passed away October 12, 2025. The daughter of John and Katherine (nee Jung) Hannigan. Beloved wife of Arthur C. West. Loving mother of Christopher (Theresa) West and the late A. David West and the late Michelle West. Devoted grandmother of Austin West, Brittany (Lyon) Lazare, Zoe West and Mia West. Devoted sister to Patricia (Marv) Goeke, Kathryn Schwab, and Fr. John Hannigan Jr. Devoted sister-in-law to Roberta (Tim) Carroll and the late Karen (George) Kurdenok. Cherished cousin and aunt to many beloved nieces and nephews. And special friend to so many!
Eileen grew up on the south side of Chicago and attended Sacred Heart grade school and high school. She enjoyed and excelled as an Irish Dancer throughout her childhood and teen years. Eileen met her husband when she was 19 years old and had a cherished 63-year marriage raising three beautiful children.
Eileen was a long time resident of LaGrange Park and parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. She worked for nearly 20 years at the First National Bank of LaGrange, including serving as the manager and Personal Banker for the Bethlehem Woods branch office.
Eileen developed and maintained so many incredibly special friendships over the years from her south side childhood roots to the family’s years living in Hazel Crest to the many years in LaGrange Park, followed by Burr Ridge, Indian Head Park, and most recently at Oak Trace in Downers Grove. Her summers spent in New Buffalo, Michigan were a source of tremendous joy with so many cherished friends and fantastic memories.
Eileen always looked forward to and treasured the many special family and friend gatherings, as well as her grandkid’s sporting events which she would never miss cheering them on, and her teenager (and adult) children’s get together’s with their friends over the years which continued on to the next generation of her children’s friends kids where she would take in all the love and return it tenfold.
And if it wasn’t getting together or striking up a conversation with a friend that she already knew she always made a new friend wherever she went. Her warm heart and love that she had for everyone that she knew or met was irresistible and infectious.
… we have lost an exceptional and kind woman that everyone she met loved her dearly, and that was because she always loved you just as much… if not more!!!
All will remember her smile, warm heart, laughter and wonderful sense of humor!
Visitation on Monday, October 20th from 3 pm to 8 pm at Hallowell & James Funeral Home located at 1025 W. 55th St., LaGrange
Visitation on Tuesday, October 21st from 9 to 9:30 am at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, followed by a procession to St. Francis Xavier at 124 N Spring Ave., LaGrange for a 10am Funeral Mass.
Interment at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, located at 87th Street & Hamlin Ave., Evergreen Park
In lieu of flowers, memorials to either the Leukemia Foundation or the American Diabetes Association are appreciated.
She was the best friend anyone could have. We met when we were 16 years old and keep are friendship all these years. We always had laughs and memories to talk about and were recently in a Tripoli Club together until she got sick. May she RIP now and receive her heavenly reward for living such a good life. I will miss you!! Loretta Corrigan Cunningham
Eileen and I met 50+ yrs ago through Avon. We had wonderful times together and on more than one occasion laughed until we literally cried. She was an amazing friend and will be greatly missed. I hold dear so many memories….rest in peace Eileen.
It’s hard to put into words what my grandma meant to me. For 28 years, she was by my side – not just as a grandmother, but as a constant, a comfort, and one of my very best friends. Her love was steady and unconditional. She was there for everything – every soccer and volleyball game, every holiday, every ordinary day that she somehow made feel special. Now that she’s gone, it feels like a part of me is missing.
She had this way of making everyone feel welcome. Her cheerful “hi!” could fill a room and make you feel like you belonged. Whether you were family, a friend, or someone she just met, she had a gift for making people feel seen and cared for. Her warmth was effortless, and her kindness was endless.
Some of my favorite memories are from the Burr Ridge house and our summers in New Buffalo. My sister and I would wake up early and look out the window to see if the flag was up at Grandma and Grandpa’s place – that was our sign they were awake. We’d book it over there from our house, knowing she’d be waiting with her infamous dipping eggs and Grandpa would have already made a run for pistachio muffins for us and her, and a chocolate donut for himself. Those mornings were simple, but they were everything. Just being with them, laughing, eating breakfast, feeling completely loved.
My grandparents used to joke that I was their favorite grandson – though I was their only one – but she made me feel like the most loved person in the world. We had this thing whenever we said goodbye:
“I love you.”
“No, I love you more.”
“No, I love you most.”
It was ours. And in those words, I always knew how deeply she loved me. That kind of love stays with you forever.
She was the definition of an Irish Catholic grandmother – full of faith, full of love, and full of life. We always had a four-leaf clover in the house, and I still carry one with me. Faith, hope, love, and luck – she gave us all of that, every single day, just by being who she was.
I’ll miss her forever. But I’ll carry her with me in everything I do. In the way I treat people. In the way I show up for the people I love. In the way I laugh, and in the way I live. She taught me how to love with my whole heart, and that’s the greatest gift anyone could ever give.
May we all find peace in knowing that her memory lives on in the countless lives she touched – and may our hearts be comforted knowing she is now reunited with David and Michelle, watching over us with the same love she gave so freely in life.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:13
Austin,
You nailed it! Such beautiful descriptions and memories will last forever. I know she truly loved you with her whole heart. May she rest in peace and look over all of us!
Love, Marge Hartigan
Art,
With heartfelt condolences we send this message to let you know that we’re thinking of you and your family, and share your grief at the death of Eileen.
May it be comforting to know she will be met by David and Michelle, and all her friends from “Hickory Snatch”. She was a great friend and will be missed terribly.
We love you both.
What a beautiful picture of my Leenie!
Beautiful words spoken for such a special lady
Miss you bunches Leenie❤️❤️
What a beautiful woman with a kind heart ❤️❤️ I will always remember her infectious smile.