Pat Pradel, wife of recently retired longtime Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel, died early Saturday. Pat Pradel had bone cancer, her family said. She was 75.
“We’re having a very hard time with it,” daughter Carol Pradel said.
All four immediate family members were present, she said, when Pradel passed away about 6 a.m. at Edward Hospital in Naperville.
“Us three kids and my dad,” Carol Pradel said. “We never left her side.”
Pat Pradel’s first encounter with cancer came 23 years ago, her daughter said, but her condition worsened in recent years. A diagnosis of stage 4 bone cancer came in January 2014, she said.
Then-Mayor Pradel told The Sun in a January interview that his wife’s illness was one of the reasons he chose not to seek a sixth term in April’s consolidated elections.
“Getting older, and having sickness in the family with Pat, we’ve learned that life doesn’t get any easier as you get older,” he said.
Over the years, the mayor said, his wife had been his strongest ally and supporter.
“I try to be everywhere — thanks to my dear wife, Pat. She just says, ‘Whatever you want to do, George, it’s fine,'” he said. “And she takes a back seat sometimes, when I have a commitment and she wants to do something. I’ve put the city first, but I’m going to put her first now.”
Married for 55 years, Pradel is survived by her husband and their three adult children, Carol and sons George Pradel and Gary Pradel.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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