Kimberly Lile-Sokolowski

Kim attended Columbia College, Chicago, where she studied photography, and she became a gifted art photographer with a keen eye for an arresting shot; many of her images were from her travels. She roamed the world widely, spending six months touring Africa and several months in South America, after which she began importing craftwares from local artisans she had met and selling them in local Chicago shops.

She worked primarily in the film industry as a freelance script supervisor (responsible for ensuring continuity), mostly for commercials but also on a few TV shows and films, and also worked as a photojournalist; a cocktail waitress; a pet photographer; a cook in a nudist colony, a sales clerk; and a trainer at a high-end spa, leading groups on early morning walks into the desert.

Kim had an uncanny ability to know something about everything—even before the Internet made it easy, she always somehow knew about hot new restaurants and films, what was in fashion, which new books and writers were interesting, what museum show was coming up. Her sophisticated musical tastes favored esoteric performers and genres drawn from around the globe.

An adventurous and gifted cook, no recipe was too daunting for her, and she was an early adopter of every exotic ingredient or trend in cooking that came along (she grew arugula many years before it was offered in US groceries, and was stuffing zucchini blossoms ages before they appeared on any American menu). The famous photo of Julia Child holding aloft a chicken by its wings always hung prominently on Kim’s walls, a testament to both her love of cooking and her irreverent humor.

She had a huge love and concern for animals—a sadly unfulfilled dream was to return to Africa to work with gorillas. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she drove down to New Orleans and volunteered in animal rescue efforts there.

She was brave, and though she was not always fearless, she always refused to give in to fear, and was always blazingly individual and chicly glamourous. She was also hilarious, coupling a razor-sharp wit and fierce intelligence with an equal love of the lowbrow. She was always up for an adventure.

In 2004 she was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease, which gravely affected her life and gradually diminished her abilities and the scope of her world. But she stared it directly down, refused to be defined by it, and battled to remain as vibrantly alive as she always had been. She armed herself with information and set about making an autobiographical documentary—“A Mind in Quicksand: Life With Huntington’s”—which was shown on PBS, and won best documentary feature at the Illinois Independent Film Festival.

She was loved by many many people, most deeply by her husband, Danny Sokolowski. Danny was an extraordinarily supportive and patient partner throughout Kim’s struggle with HD, and was her primary caregiver until the end.

Kim was truly unforgettable. With her stylish beauty, gregarious personality, and explosive laughter, she made an indelible impression on every person she met. Her bright energy will be with us forever.

A visitation for Kimberly will be held Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 West 103rd Street, Oak Lawn. For more information, please call (708) 636-1193.

In lieu of flowers donations would be appreciated to the HDSA Center of Excellence at Northwestern Medical Center 251 E. Erie St. Ste. 1900 Lavin Family Pavilion Chicago, IL 60611. www.hdsa.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.blakelamboaklawn.com for the Lile-Sokolowski family.