Christine Konopacki Gratzke, resident of Darien, Illinois, and a nurse, passed away on November 27th 2020 at the age of 60 after a courageous battle with the COVID-19 virus. Christine is survived by her husband Joseph Gratzke, son Nathaniel Gratzke, father Chester Konopacki, mother Stella Konopacki, siblings Anthony Konopacki, Theresa (Tom) Short, Paul (Joan) Konopacki, Stanley (Laurel) Konopacki, Joe (Eileen) Konopacki, Ted (Alexandra) Konopacki, and Peter (Selena) Konopacki, as well as countless nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins, friends and godchildren …with whom she has made a lasting impact. Christine Konopacki was born in Chicago on July 25, 1960 to loving mother Lucy Jablonski and father Chester Konopacki. After the sudden passing of her mother when Christine was 7, she devoted herself to caring for her family. She soon found her calling as a nurse. She graduated from Lourdes High School and St. Xavier University, and worked her entire 38 year career at Mercy Hospital. “Christine began her nursing career at Mercy Hospital on the 9th floor. In the 1990s her smile and laughter joined Mercy’s Emergency Department. Chris’ compassion and skills cared for and saved countless lives. Those lucky enough to work alongside her will always hear her jolly laughter ringing in their hearts. As we envision her huge smile and the warmth of her hugs, we will draw strength from her memory during this devastating time. As our hearts slowly heal, Chris will always be remembered by her Mercy Family” [courtesy of the Mercy Hospital community] After work hours, you would often find Christine visiting family on her route home if they were in need of a nurse’s personal touch. Aunts received her expert help administering medication. And grandparents had their pill organizer double checked daily. Judy, her sister in law, received personal care over 20 years that is above and beyond what anyone would expect. The examples are endless. Somehow everyone received the extra mile of help from Christine. At Mercy Hospital, she met the love of her life Joseph Gratzke. After a wonderful first date, they were married within the year, on July 4th 1993. Christine and Joe have one child, Nathaniel Gratzke. Outside her endless work at Mercy Hospital, Christine was devoted to her family. She absolutely loved gathering as a family during holidays and special events. She cherished time with her siblings, nieces, nephews and extended family. Christine loved to help her husband organize his new business. And almost all her brothers enjoyed personalized haircuts from Christine when they were younger. Somehow between all of this she still found time to attend to a few personal hobbies like gardening and dates with Joe to the movie theater. Throughout the busy day, still her favorite time was spending a quiet dinner with her two favorite men, Joe and Nate. Christine also had a passion for spoken professions of love during family events, and driving her car into freshly poured concrete (as a new driver). :) If our short pit stop on Earth is for the purpose of making an impact on others and developing our soul, then my goodness Christine, mission accomplished, 100 times over and back again! Enjoy your eternal reward and rest. It is well deserved (but much too early for all of us). We may not be able to see your reunion with your mother Lucy, but we feel it in our hearts. Pass along our gratitude and love. Given the current environment, the visitation, service and burial will be a private event. The family will plan a memorial and reunion event at a more appropriate time in the near future. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Dec 3, 2020 at 11:30am. To view the live stream of services please click here. Christine will be laid to rest on Dec 3 2020 at Resurrection Cemetery. (private event) Donations in her name could be made to: Misericordia 6300 N Ridge Ave. Chicago, IL 60660