Audrey Marie Hafer

Audrey Marie Hafer passed away peacefully at her home in Arlington Heights, IL surrounded by our family on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. Audrey was born on October 4, 1931 in Chicago, IL to the late Herbert Muehl and Myrtle Muehl (nee Snyder).

Mom celebrated 45 years of marriage with our Dad, the late Robert Louis Hafer. They are incredible parents to Rob (Laurie), Lizabeth (Ramona Kent), the late Jim Hafer (Theresa), and Mike (Amy). Mom and Dad are grandparents to Melissa (Rick Nickle), Megan Hafer, Melanie (Matt Mannina), Robert (Kari) Hafer, James (Megan) Hafer, Thomas Hafer, Daniel (Lauren) Hafer, Sydney Hafer, and Abbey Hafer. Nine great-grandchildren and counting, Marley, Maizie, Max, and Morrison Nickle; Madilyn, Maecyn, and Miles Mannina; Emma and Kinsley Hafer. Mom will be missed by our family and her many dear friends.

Mom and her siblings, the late Herb Muehl and the late Marilyn (Muehl) Sheehan, grew up in Chicago during the Depression years. As tough as things were, her parents valued and supported a Catholic education - St. Alphonsus for grade school and St. Gregory for high school. Always resourceful, Mom began working at a young age wrapping packages at Hirsch Clothing while taking advantage of the clothing discount. Everyone knows Mom is a smart dresser! She also worked at Andes Candies at the age of 14 closing the store at 10pm each night and then walking home. My how times have changed!

Life took a big shift when Mom’s brother, our Uncle Herb, worked at a diner called The Corral. Dad owned the place, and the rest is history. At the age of 16, Mom started dating Dad and three years later they were married.

Mom and Dad bought their first house in Niles, IL in 1957. The neighborhood was just being built and provided us kids a playground of fun with all our neighborhood friends. We were lucky to grow up in such a great place. Mom was always there to take good care of us throughout the days while Dad was working at the company he founded, Exterior Planning Corporation.

We were lucky to have adventurous parents who loved to travel and create the many memories we carry with us to this day. We shared a cottage on Loon Lake just south of the Wisconsin border with Mom’s brother, Uncle Herb and his wife, Aunt Ellie. Our cousins and us kids loved spending weekends fishing, swimming, water skiing, cruising on our pontoon boat, catching frogs, ice-skating, etc. Mom and Aunt Ellie made our cottage a cozy retreat and always had a wonderful meal waiting for us even if we didn’t want to come home to eat!

In the early 70’s, Mom and Dad purchased a condo at The Colony Beach and Tennis Club on the sparsely populated island off the coast of Sarasota, FL called Longboat Key. Little did we know at the time that we would still be visiting Longboat Key at least once every year. Mom could spend hours gazing at the clear blue Gulf waters, spotting the dolphins that would cruise by. In fact, we celebrated Mom’s BIG ‘90’ on Longboat Key!

In 1973, we discovered Ouray, CO ‘The Switzerland of America’ and Durango, CO home of Colorado Trails Ranch (CTR). We explored the backroads of southwest Colorado by jeep bouncing along the rocky trails. Dad was always convinced we would strike gold – Mom would go along with it although we aren’t sure she really believed we would hit it big! Our week-long adventures at CTR, a family dude ranch, spanned 15yrs and included both Liz and Mike working at the ranch. The owners, Dick and Ginny Elder have been family friends to this day.

Our trips to Colorado have continued. Liz (Ramona) and Mike (Amy) reside in Colorado and own a vacation home in Ouray along with their cousin Julie (Muehl) Koewler. We celebrated 50 years of Adventures in Ouray just this last September taking Mom to all our favorite spots. Just shy of 92 at the time, she was up for our many fun adventures. One of her favorites was always a campfire lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers on a beautiful babbling brook! Ouray is home to our Dad’s memorial in the majestic Yankee Boy Basin. We look forward to honoring Mom at this special location during the summer months when we can get up to this special spot at 13,000ft.

Audrey has been the glue of the Hafer family creating the mighty foundation that holds our amazing family together. In fact, if you ask any of the family, they will always mention Mom’s wonderful cooking and tasty baking treats as some of their favorite memories. Mom's unconditional love and support, unwavering selflessness, ingenious creativity, heartfelt thoughtfulness, enduring compassion, courageous strength, and willingness to embrace adventures are just some of the many characteristics that have influenced our lives and shaped who we are today.

We invite you to a Memorial Mass for Audrey on Tuesday, April 30th at 2pm - St. James Catholic Church, 820 N Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to American Cancer Society in Audrey’s name.