Mary Carol Vanecko, sister of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, dies at 86
Mary Carol Vanecko, the sister of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, died late last week.
Vanecko died this past Friday, according to a published obituary. She was 86.
Vanecko was the second oldest of the seven children of former Mayor Richard J. Daley and First Lady Eleanor "Sis" Daley. Her published obituary said she was "fiercely proud of her family's contributions to the city."
Vanecko graduated from Nativity of Our Lord grammar school, St. Xavier High School, and St. Mary's College, and taught kindergarten in the Wilmette Public Schools in Chicago's northern suburbs before she started her family.
"She loved golf, tennis, Grand Beach, shopping, parties, Sunday dinner and travel. Her pancakes, emojis and rapid-fire telephone calls were legendary," her obituary read. "Mary Carol was a lifelong parishioner at Queen of All Saints, a proud church lady and the longest standing member of the Misericordia Women's Board."
Vanecko's father served as mayor of Chicago from 1955 until his death on Dec. 20, 1976. Vanecko's older sister, Patricia Martino, and younger sister, Eleanor R. Daley, have also passed away.
Former Mayor Richard M. Daley, 82, who served as mayor from 1989 until 2011 and Cook County State's Attorney before that, was the fourth oldest of the Daley family. He was followed by three more brothers — attorney Michael Daley, Cook County Commissioner John Daley, and former U.S. Commerce Secretary and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley.
Vanecko was also preceded in death by Dr. Robert Vanecko, her husband of 59 years. Dr. Vanecko was a surgeon who became chief of staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
She is also survived by her sons Robert, Mark, and R.J. Vanecko and daughter Mary Clare Hickman, and nine grandchildren.
