Penelope Caruso, 'Songbird of St. Ann Parish' and longtime Channahon resident, dies at 86

Penelope Louise (Lale) Caruso, 86, of Channahon, formerly of Glenwood and Chicago Heights, died peacefully at her home on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

Known to family and friends as Penny, she was born on September 13, 1940, in Chicago Heights to the late Adeline (Sandera) and Marino Lale, and was raised there. She graduated from Bloom High School with the class of 1958 and worked in Chicago after high school.

A short time later, while singing in the choir at St. Rocco, she noticed a cute usher named Bob. The two married in 1961 and were together for 60 years. Penny and Bob made their home in Glenwood, where they lived until 1998, when they moved to Channahon. Her husband, Robert Caruso, preceded her in death.

Once married, Penny was a proud mother and a most efficient homemaker. She did some temp work with Davis Temporaries before joining Hirsch Funeral Home as an office manager in 1983. She remained there for 20 years, then retired to help babysit her grandchildren.

Music was a lifelong passion. Born with a beautiful soprano voice that she worked tirelessly to train and perfect, she sang in church choirs, singing groups, at weddings and funerals, and on her own. She sang in the choirs at St. Rocco, St. Kieran and St. Ann, counted The New Harmonies and The Park Forest Singers among her favorite groups, and served as a cantor at St. Ann, where she was known as the "Songbird of St. Ann Parish." Her rendition of Ave Maria at Christmas midnight Mass at St. Rocco was one of her hallmarks.

A woman of strong Catholic faith, she was a parishioner of St. Ann Parish for the last 28 years. She was an active member of St. Ann's CCW and was voted CCW Woman of the Year in 2005. She founded the St. Ann Prayer Tree and facilitated it for 12 years, and was part of the Renew group for many years.

She is survived by her children Bob Caruso (Chris Arce), Dan (Cindy) Caruso, Carrie (Tom) Capecci and Cathy (Bob) Pettigrew; her son Perry Andrew died in infancy. She was a proud grandmother of 12 and a dearest great-grandmother, known as Gigi, and is also survived by several cousins. She made every effort to attend every concert, musical, dance recital, sporting event, graduation and sacrament involving her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, no matter the sacrifice or distance. Her family fondly remembers her "Pennyisms," from her whacko-whacko warning to the kids, to teaching the grandkids the art of the pivot in basketball, to dressing as Mrs. Claus at Christmas and the Great Pumpkin at Halloween. She loved a good chocolate malt, ice cream from DQ, matching her jewelry to every outfit, keeping her nails manicured and never missing her weekly hair appointment.

Visitation will be held Sunday, November 1, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Road at Essington Road, Joliet. Funeral services will be Monday, November 2, at St. Ann Catholic Church, 24500 S. Navajo Drive, Channahon, where friends and relatives can gather from 9:00 a.m. until the Mass of Christian Burial is celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Assumption Cemetery in Glenwood. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Penny's name may be made to Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care.