Carole Nicholus

Carole Nicholus died peacefully on June 23, 2026, surrounded by her children and caregivers at St Patrick’s nursing home in Naperville. 
Beloved wife of 56 years to the late Leonard. 
Dear daughter of Henry and Julia Redini. 
Loving mother of Chris Nicholus (Stephen Broczko) and Mike Nicholus (Angela Steele). 
Cherished grandmother of humans Julia, Noah and Ryan; furry grandchildren Blue, Milo, Asha, Anya, Baby, Leopold and Pippa, and one furry great grandchild: Obi.

Her laugh. Anyone who knew Carole knew her loud, infectious laugh – she was gregarious at any event, and invariably the life of a party. She could sing any Barry Manilow song beginning to end, and lost count of how many times she watched “An Affair to Remember” and “Top Gun.” It is possible Tom Cruise has lost his greatest fan.

Len and Carole met while attending Wright Junior College in 1961. They met on a tennis court and decided love didn’t mean “nothing.” Their first date was at Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs (in box seats – not the bleachers – which Carole interpreted as a signal of the seriousness of the outing. She was, of course, correct). Married in 1964, they lived in Chicago in the Austin neighborhood in a $70-per-month apartment before eventually moving to River Grove where they raised their two children.

Carole was first and foremost a teacher. She began her career as a Chicago Public School teacher in 1966, teaching elementary school at Sumner, before eventually teaching at Burbank, and Beaubien. She taught every grade first through eighth at various times in her 40 years of teaching, beloved by students and faculty alike. In 1978, Carole was recognized as “Teacher of the Year” by the Chicagoland PTA group. She was quoted “I love teaching. It’s just wonderful to see children grow from the beginning of the school year to the end. I stress reading, book reports and using a library card. It’s rewarding to see their interest in reading increase and their scores go up.” Carole will be dearly missed.

Visitation services will be held at Sax Tiedemann Funeral Home 9568 Belmont Ave, Franklin Park on Saturday June 27th from 10-1.