Pamela "Penny" Caligiuri, age 71, a longtime resident of West Chicago, IL, passed away on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois surrounded by family. Born on July 2, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois, Penny attended Taft High School and Northeastern Illinois University, where she majored in music.

Penny's story began when she met her soon-to-be husband, Les Caligiuri, at Northeastern. They built a life together and enjoyed 51 loving years of marriage, raising three daughters and later enjoying four grandchildren.

Penny's three daughters—Jenny, Kristy, and Laura—were the center of her life. As competitive figure skaters, they had Penny as their biggest supporter and fan for over a decade. Penny drove them to practices, sewed their costumes, and traveled around the United States cheering them on at competitions. She continued to follow figure skating, attending several US and World Championships and watching all the televised competitions. Additionally, Penny loved cheering on the Chicago sports teams, watching every Bears and Bulls game, and she especially enjoyed cheering for the 2016 Chicago Cubs as they won the World Series.

Penny had many hobbies and interests throughout her life. A few of her favorites were cooking, traveling, bowling, and gardening. Penny was a fantastic cook and loved making meals for her family. Paella, stuffed shells, chicken and rice, homemade pizza, and meatballs were a few of her specialties. Penny carried on a special family tradition of baking Julekage (Norwegian holiday bread) for the holidays. Penny enjoyed bowling, participating in many leagues, and traveling to bowling tournaments with her friends. Penny loved visiting the National Parks throughout the western United States, especially Rocky Mountain National Park where she once climbed to the top of Longs Peak (14,259 feet elevation). Penny also loved cruising and traveling abroad. She visited many European countries and has traveled to South America, Africa and Asia. When Penny was home, she maintained beautiful gardens on her three-acre property. Hosta, a shade-loving plant, was the focus of her many gardens. With hundreds of varieties and thousands of hosta plants, her gardens kept her busy from spring through the fall. She was active in her local garden club and the Midwest Hosta Society.

Penny's greatest joy was her family and her dogs. Penny and Les spent 51 wonderful years of marriage and raised three daughters. She took great pride in watching her girls grow into happy, successful, and confident adults. After raising her own children, Penny and Les enjoyed their grandchildren, Mattix, Molly, Danny, and Lily. For several years, Penny watched her oldest grandchildren during the weekdays. She loved spending the days reading, playing, and cooking with them. Over the years, Penny had many pets, including dogs, cats, and birds, and especially loved her three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Penny is survived by her husband Leslie Caligiuri; her daughters Jennifer (Aaron) Groves of Naperville, Kristy (David Pilla) Caligiuri of Naperville, and Laura (Mark) Rogers of Vernon Hills; and her grandchildren Mattix and Molly Groves and Daniel and Lilian Pilla. She is also survived by her sister-in-laws Vickie (Steve) Zapatka and Elisa Caligiuri and many nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held on Friday, July 5, 2024 from 3 to 8 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton, where a funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Assumption Cemetery in Wheaton, Illinois.

Family and friends may sign a guestbook at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027 .