Through a family friend during her husband and daughter’s funeral service Thursday, Gina Winiewicz made a heart-wrenching and loving promise to her late husband: “You take care of Haylie, and I’ll take care of Ashley.”
Gina Winiewicz’s message to her husband, Christopher, and 15-year-old daughter, Haylie, was read to those who filled St. Patrick Church in Wadsworth for the double funeral.
“The day I met you, you said you were going to marry me,” Gina Winiewicz said in her message about Christopher, 50. “From the moment our lovely daughters were born, you were a full-time dad. You were a loving husband, an extremely devoted father and the loudest parent and cheer dad.”
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Haylie was a standout member of Grayslake North High School’s varsity cheerleading team and Twisters Elite Cheer & Dance. Christopher was an engineer at Hospira, a Lake Forest-based pharmaceutical and medical device company.
They died in a Saturday afternoon car crash at the intersection of Route 45 and Grand Avenue near their Lindenhurst home.
Gina Winiewicz and her 16-year-old daughter Ashley were surrounded Thursday by a large network of supportive family and friends during the funeral Mass.
The message from Gina Winiewicz to her daughter had a church full of mourners in tears.
“To Haylie, my lovely daughter, I will always cherish the 15 years I had with you. Our trips to the (Wisconsin) Dells, just us, you would befriend anyone,” Gina said of her daughter, who went from running cross-country in middle school to becoming “the most amazing (cheer) flier.”
“Watching you perform in the (world championship cheer competition) made me so proud,” she said near the end of her message.
The mom would not say goodbye, because she said they will be together again.
“I am blessed with two amazing daughters,” Gina said.
The Rev. James Merold, who baptized Haylie, also spoke of celebrating the lives of the father and daughter.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” he said several times. “At the end of time we will see them again. There will be a reunion with all of the people we have lost. We will see Haylie and Chris again.”
Merold called on attendees to remember and celebrate.
“To remember is to make present again,” he said, adding that those present are gifted with memories of Haylie and Chris.
Many of those cherished memories included the playful wrath of Haylie’s sense of humor.
“She played some pranks on you, but that was a gift, too,” Merold said.
Lindenhurst police this week said an investigation into the crash is ongoing, with police experts still conducting interviews and reviewing evidence.
The two-vehicle crash occurred at about 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the intersection of Route 45 and Grand Avenue near Lindenhurst. In addition to the two fatalities, Ashley Winiewicz was hospitalized for treatment of injuries, as were the two occupants of the other car.
On Thursday, representatives of the family expressed gratitude for the outpouring of community support and for more than $30,000 in funding that has been raised so far for the Winiewicz family.
Fundraising efforts continue on gofundme.com under “Mateja-Winiewicz.”
“Any contribution at all, no matter how small or large would be greatly appreciated, as the funds will help defray the overwhelming financial burden this young widow and her daughter are facing,” according to a spokeswoman for the family.
Twitter @jimnewton5
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