Georgia “Jody” Ann Zummer (née Craig) of Evanston, Illinois (formerly of Kenilworth, Illinois) passed away peacefully on February 3, 2022. She was preceded in death by her husband, Anthony “Tony” Simon Zummer, just thirteen days earlier on January 21, 2022. She was born on June 17, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois to Freya Gerdes Craig and George Craig. She was raised by her mother and Aunt, Clare “Quaddy” Gerdes, with her brother Stuart Craig. She was blessed to set Stuart up on a date with her friend, Ruth Rosene. Ruth later became her dearest sister-in-law and best friend. Jody and Stuart also reunited later in life with their half-sister, Pearl Kearns, and her husband John Kearns of Abington Massachusetts.
After attending Grinnell College in Iowa, Georgia taught Second Grade at West Ridge School in Highland Park, Illinois. She was featured with her students on the cover of the September 28, 1958, issue of Midwest Magazine of the Chicago Sun-Times. She later married Tony and settled in Evanston, Illinois. She gave birth to three children, Juliann, Craig, and Mike, raising them in Winnetka and later Kenilworth, Illinois. After a hiatus from teaching, she returned to teach Kindergarten at Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, retiring from there in 2000. One of Jody’s greatest honors was seeing one of her former students discuss Jody’s importance in her life while competing on Jeopardy.
Jody loved to travel and after retirement, she saw much of the world with friends and family. She crisscrossed the world taking in as much as she could with her beloved traveling companions.
Jody treasured time with her family. She is survived by her sons Mike Zummer and Craig Zummer, and her grandchildren, Alice Zummer, and Michael Zummer, whom Jody helped raise after the death of Craig’s first wife Christine Zummer née Shine and Craig’s three stepchildren, Joseph Musolino, Libby Musolino, and William Musolino with his second wife Michelle Seitz. Her daughter, Juliann, has two children, Craig Hunter and Alexander Hunter, as well as two stepchildren, Kyle Martiniere and Courtney Martiniere, with her second husband, Kevin Martiniere. Aunt Jody was also an important person throughout the lives of her four nieces and her great-nieces and nephews.
When home, she treasured her time with friends, particularly her fellow teachers from Sears School, her friends from PEO, the Saturday morning group at Panera, and the important group of lifelong friends that she loved. As her health declined from interstitial lung disease, her ability to travel declined and the importance of her relationships with her network of friends continued to be central to her life. On her last Saturday before passing, she smiled broadly when told she was going to see her friends at Panera. That last outing before losing consciousness the next day gave her great joy.
She is interred at Memorial Park Cemetery’s mausoleum with her mother in Skokie, Illinois.
Published by Chicago Tribune from Aug. 5 to Aug. 7, 2022.
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