Matilda "Tillie" Fuller was born 19 Nov. 1907, the third child of Harry A. Fuller and his first wife, Josephine Engelbreit. She attended Our Lady of Lourdes school in Chicago, then Immaculata High School, followed by business college. She loved to draw and had hoped to become a commercial artist, but apparently her mother did not approve of the world of art. A dutiful daughter, she became a secretary. She also loved music and dancing, and went to dance clubs with her sister Harriet and cousin Bernadette where they sometimes participated in dance marathons, a fad of the 1920s. At a club she met Charles Prenavo, saxophone and clarinet player who had his own band. In Feb. of 1929 they were married by a J.P. In July, at the insistence of both of their mothers, they were married by a priest at St. Francis Xavier Church in Chicago. Charles and Matilda raised three daughters. They were fond and indulgent parents.
As a hobby, she collected salt and pepper shakers; friends and family loved to contribute to her collection. She was proud of her sets from almost every state and many other countries. She also loved reading (Pearl Buck was her favorite author) and working diagramless crossword puzzles. Occasionally she could be prompted to draw pictures for her daughters' amusement. She was a baseball fan and though an avowed White Sox fan, she was a loyal Chicagoan and cheered for the Cubs as well.
Although she lived her whole life in Chicago, which she knew and loved, she had always dreamed of someday retiring and moving to the country where she would grow geraniums and raise chickens--Rhode Island Reds. Her dream did not come true. Her husband Charles became sick; she found it necessary to return to work. He died in 1953.
In 1956, she married John Trefone. She continued to work in downtown Chicago at the Chicago Catholic Womens Club, but soon became sick. She was diagnosed with far-advanced cancer in 1958. Surgery and the family's desperate, last-hope trial of an experimental drug being tested at the time (Krebiozen)were unsuccessful and she died in the hospital on 16 June 1959. Dying at the age of only 51, many of her dreams remained unfulfilled, but she never wasted time being envious of others or resentful. She was a gentle, loving person, who instilled in her own daughters a deep and abiding love and respect for family and tradition.
As a hobby, she collected salt and pepper shakers; friends and family loved to contribute to her collection. She was proud of her sets from almost every state and many other countries. She also loved reading (Pearl Buck was her favorite author) and working diagramless crossword puzzles. Occasionally she could be prompted to draw pictures for her daughters' amusement. She was a baseball fan and though an avowed White Sox fan, she was a loyal Chicagoan and cheered for the Cubs as well.
Although she lived her whole life in Chicago, which she knew and loved, she had always dreamed of someday retiring and moving to the country where she would grow geraniums and raise chickens--Rhode Island Reds. Her dream did not come true. Her husband Charles became sick; she found it necessary to return to work. He died in 1953.
In 1956, she married John Trefone. She continued to work in downtown Chicago at the Chicago Catholic Womens Club, but soon became sick. She was diagnosed with far-advanced cancer in 1958. Surgery and the family's desperate, last-hope trial of an experimental drug being tested at the time (Krebiozen)were unsuccessful and she died in the hospital on 16 June 1959. Dying at the age of only 51, many of her dreams remained unfulfilled, but she never wasted time being envious of others or resentful. She was a gentle, loving person, who instilled in her own daughters a deep and abiding love and respect for family and tradition.
Matilda "Tillie" Fuller was born 19 Nov. 1907, the third child of Harry A. Fuller and his first wife, Josephine Engelbreit. She attended Our Lady of Lourdes school in Chicago, then Immaculata High School, followed by business college. She loved to draw and had hoped to become a commercial artist, but apparently her mother did not approve of the world of art. A dutiful daughter, she became a secretary. She also loved music and dancing, and went to dance clubs with her sister Harriet and cousin Bernadette where they sometimes participated in dance marathons, a fad of the 1920s. At a club she met Charles Prenavo, saxophone and clarinet player who had his own band. In Feb. of 1929 they were married by a J.P. In July, at the insistence of both of their mothers, they were married by a priest at St. Francis Xavier Church in Chicago. Charles and Matilda raised three daughters. They were fond and indulgent parents.
As a hobby, she collected salt and pepper shakers; friends and family loved to contribute to her collection. She was proud of her sets from almost every state and many other countries. She also loved reading (Pearl Buck was her favorite author) and working diagramless crossword puzzles. Occasionally she could be prompted to draw pictures for her daughters' amusement. She was a baseball fan and though an avowed White Sox fan, she was a loyal Chicagoan and cheered for the Cubs as well.
Although she lived her whole life in Chicago, which she knew and loved, she had always dreamed of someday retiring and moving to the country where she would grow geraniums and raise chickens--Rhode Island Reds. Her dream did not come true. Her husband Charles became sick; she found it necessary to return to work. He died in 1953.
In 1956, she married John Trefone. She continued to work in downtown Chicago at the Chicago Catholic Womens Club, but soon became sick. She was diagnosed with far-advanced cancer in 1958. Surgery and the family's desperate, last-hope trial of an experimental drug being tested at the time (Krebiozen)were unsuccessful and she died in the hospital on 16 June 1959. Dying at the age of only 51, many of her dreams remained unfulfilled, but she never wasted time being envious of others or resentful. She was a gentle, loving person, who instilled in her own daughters a deep and abiding love and respect for family and tradition.
As a hobby, she collected salt and pepper shakers; friends and family loved to contribute to her collection. She was proud of her sets from almost every state and many other countries. She also loved reading (Pearl Buck was her favorite author) and working diagramless crossword puzzles. Occasionally she could be prompted to draw pictures for her daughters' amusement. She was a baseball fan and though an avowed White Sox fan, she was a loyal Chicagoan and cheered for the Cubs as well.
Although she lived her whole life in Chicago, which she knew and loved, she had always dreamed of someday retiring and moving to the country where she would grow geraniums and raise chickens--Rhode Island Reds. Her dream did not come true. Her husband Charles became sick; she found it necessary to return to work. He died in 1953.
In 1956, she married John Trefone. She continued to work in downtown Chicago at the Chicago Catholic Womens Club, but soon became sick. She was diagnosed with far-advanced cancer in 1958. Surgery and the family's desperate, last-hope trial of an experimental drug being tested at the time (Krebiozen)were unsuccessful and she died in the hospital on 16 June 1959. Dying at the age of only 51, many of her dreams remained unfulfilled, but she never wasted time being envious of others or resentful. She was a gentle, loving person, who instilled in her own daughters a deep and abiding love and respect for family and tradition.
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See more Prenavo Trefone or Fuller memorials in:
- Saint Joseph Cemetery Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
- River Grove Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
- Cook County Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
- Illinois Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
- USA Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
- Find a Grave Prenavo Trefone or Fuller
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