Barbara Marie Koziol

An angel was received in Heaven when Barbara Marie Koziol passed on January 7, 2022, to lighten the skies with her radiant smile and heart of gold.

Barbara was the embodiment of kindness. She always tried to make everyone feel comfortable, especially those who needed it the most. She welcomed friends and family into her home with open arms. Her home symbolized one of comfort and creativity. She wanted people to feel safe in her home and hopefully take away any of life’s troubles.

Barbara was passionate about her children, music and the arts. She did everything she could to allow her children to be better and always preached good thoughts. No matter what personal struggles her children had, Barbara scaled the terrain by their side, no matter how big the mountain.

Her love for music and performing was brought to the stage at St. Peter’s Vegas Nights in a variety of musicals. Dancing, singing and costume designing, she tried to bring the joy in her heart to the good people of the church by performing the night away. Again, always wanting to make people smile.

However, her greatest self-actualization came in the form of her artistic accomplishments. Barbara’s formal education came from Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied how to design, draw and paint. Some of her greatest works were to paint an entire underwater seascape for her grandson fashioned after Finding Nemo, designing a bedroom for a princess for her daughter and most notably hand-drawing a mother and her newborn as a thank you gift to the man who delivered her children. Barbara’s gifts knew no limit, and we were all blessed to be a part of them.

Barbara’s perseverance and toughness were demonstrated in her quiet struggles with deafness, cancer survivorship and enduring three hip surgeries. She didn’t complain, and like all of her life’s challenges, she took the high road toward always trying to be better.

We will all remember Barbara for making the world a better place and making those around her better individuals. Heaven is most certainly a much better place today because she has deservedly found her place next to God.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, Edwin Joseph Koziol. She was the loving and dedicated mother of William (Emerald) Koziol, Paul Koziol and Jennifer (Jostein) (née Koziol) Baustad. She was the loving grandmother of four grandsons, Christopher, Benjamin, Jack and Finn. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marie (née Tatara) and John Sowa. She is also survived by her sister, Joan (née Sowa) DiGioia, and brother, John Sowa II, and many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 11 a.m., at Sts. Peter & Lambert Catholic Parish (St. Peter Church), 8100 Niles Center Rd., Skokie.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, Barbara would have preferred any kind of donation to be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org), P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN, 38101 or Hearing Health Foundation (hhf.org), 575 8th Ave., Suite 1201, New York, NY, 10018.

Funeral info:  847.673.6111.