Tully, Darlene Marie
(Nee Hula)

Darlene was born to give life to all who came to know her.  She was born on March 27, 1951, to Irvin and Genevieve (Jean Mielnicki) Hula who resided in Chicago, Illinois.  She died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at age 67 on September 24, 2018, at a hospice care facility from ovarian cancer which she fought for 2 years and 7 months.  She is survived by her husband, Robert J. Kroll, who knew her for 46 years, 9 of which as her husband.  They were each other's soulmates and best friends. She was the loving mother of Sean and Megan and devoted grandmother to Javier Zuniga.

Preceded in death by her parents, she was well loved by her family and friends and will be missed with much sadness.

Born in Berwyn and raised in Chicago, Darlene received her elementary education at Saint Agnes Parish Catholic School and was a 1969 graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School.  She received her training and education in elementary and special education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.  She first taught at Bartlett Learning Center in Bartlett, Illinois, now known as Clare Oaks Academy and currently located Wheaton, Illinois (1973 – 1977). Darlene was director of education at Saint Vincent Residential School in Freeport, Illinois (1977 – 1981).

She was married to John T. Tully, from 1978 to 2001, and they gave birth of Sean and Megan.  Dar and John divorced in 2001.  She worked as an early childhood teacher and elementary school teacher, learning center specialist, and assistant principal at Saint Sebastian Elementary School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1991 through 2009.

On June 19, 2009, Robert and Dar married and moved to the city she loved the most, Chicago.  She was a NESI and Catapult Title I teacher for students at St. Margaret Mary Parish Catholic School in the Rogers Park community and Our Lady of Victory Parish Catholic School in the Jefferson Park community.   She worked at both schools until February 1, 2016, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and treated at the Kellogg Cancer Center connected with North Shore in Evanston.  She and Robert are grateful for the service the staff of the Kellogg Center provided her.

Graveside services to be held on Saturday, October 6, 2018, at Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, at 11:00 a.m.  This is open to all family members and friends.  A celebration is being planned several weeks after this ceremony at a time, date, and location yet to be determined.  Please consider a donation in her name to the Wisconsin Humane Society: Home .

David Brooks, in his book entitled The Road to Character , indicates that we live our lives creating a resume which all the time we gather thought and memories of people not based on their resume but on their contributions to the lives and well being of the people the person loves and cherishes.  Darlene did this for her best friend and soul mate, Robert, and he did the same for her.  He was her caregiver throughout her fight with cancer.  She in turn showed him the same gifts as he managed Parkinson's disease.  They were meant for each other, and it all began on September 2, 1972, when they saw each other across the crowded room in Bartlett, Illinois.  "All I ask of you is to remember me as loving you!"

Donations can be made to: Wisconsin Humane Society: Home