Madeline Amato
October 3, 1933 - February 9, 2021

Madeline Amato, 87, of Sycamore, Illinois, died Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital after a heart attack.

Madeline was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 3 1933, to Lorenzo and Mildred Vignola.

She married Jack Amato on September 25, 1954. They had four children.

The family moved to Sycamore in 1966, where she raised her children with love and instilled strong values in them that have served them well. When Jack became the proud owner of Amato's Junque Shoppe and Hobbies, she worked with him to make it a success.

Jack and Madeline moved to Florida in 1986. Jack built a house in Loxahatchee with an 1,800 square-foot workshop that was larger than the house itself. The house had a lovely screened porch, where Madeline had a cactus garden and enjoyed her morning coffee. Sometimes she could hear the lions roar from nearby Lion Country Safari.

They always had pets. She was especially fond of cats. When anyone opened the door, she would exclaim, "Don't let the cat out." She even considered the lizards who frequented her cactus garden to be pets.

In Florida, Madeline worked at drug stores. It got her out of house and she enjoyed talking to customers. Her Catholic faith was very important to her. She collected angels and enjoyed reading books about them.

After 31 years in the Sunshine State, Jack and Madeline returned to Sycamore to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Her two great grandchildren never failed to bring a smile to her face.

Loving mother to sons, Donald (Reggie) and Jack (Sue) and daughters, Tina Weiss (Werner) and Debbie Paul (Brett). Proud grandmother to Brandon, Aaron, Karen, Amanda, Hannah, Laura, and Tiffany. Great-grandmother to Ezra and Quentin. Sister to Anthony Vignola, Frances Wojciechowski (Ronald), and Victoria Snarski. Madeline was deeply loved and will be missed by many.

She was preceded in death by Jack, her husband of 66 years; her parents; and her sister, JoAnne Streckert.

Her visitation will be February 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Butala Funeral Home, 1405 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, Illinois. Her funeral mass will be at 11:30 a.m. at the Church of Saint Mary, 322 Waterman St., Sycamore. Burial will follow the mass at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, 1100 West State St., Sycamore. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there is limited seating, but the funeral mass will be live streamed from the Church of Saint Mary Sycamore. Live streaming can be viewed at https://stmarysycamore.com/ on February 19th at 11:30a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org

To sign the online guest book or share a special memory, go to www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com