Obituary of Emily Kaye Corrigan Paolella

Emily Kaye Corrigan Paolella, 46, of Libertyville, passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 8th, 2022 after a six-year battle with breast cancer. Her beloved husband, Steve, was by her side throughout her courageous battle. Emily was born May 7, 1976 in Evanston, IL. She grew up in Glenview, IL, where she attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help school and Marillac High School, but her heart was always at Mackinac Island (as anyone who knew her more than 5 minutes was aware), where she was part of the 5th generation of the Corrigan Family.  She loved to bike, hike, swim, horseback ride, and walk her dogs all around the island. She graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management.  While attending Purdue she spent a semester abroad at Oxford Brookes University, traveling around Europe, and making new friends.

In 1996, she met the love of her life, Steve, when they were set up on a date by mutual friends, which they both only agreed to go on so their friends would quit asking.  Two and a half years later, on September 5th, 1998, they were married at St. Anne’s Catholic Church on Mackinac Island, followed by an unforgettable reception at Mission Point Resort.  Emily and Steve moved to Vernon Hills, IL, where they got their first dog, Emily’s beloved beagle Gypsy, and Emily started working for Aramark.  After a short time, she changed careers, working at H&S Media doing advertising sales for magazines, including Mary Beth’s Bean Bag World, and Mary Kate and Ashley magazine.  When Kaylee was born, she became a stay-at-home mom.  After Shannon was born the family moved to Libertyville and shortly thereafter got their second dog, Murphy.  Emily was a Girl Scout troop leader, taught Sunday School at St. Joseph Catholic Church, and volunteered at Butterfield School with the BFA, teaching students about art among other things.  They also got their third and current dog, Dakota.  As the girls got older, she went back to school to get certified in Web Development. She worked for a short time as a contract worker at Rosalind Franklin University and at Open Arms Home Health Care before starting as a digital marketing specialist at BrightStar Care, where she found her professional home, working with a wonderful and supportive team. Emily was a bright light in the lives of everyone she touched, and her smile lit up the room.

Emily is survived by her husband of 24 years, Steve, and their daughters Kaylee and Shannon; her parents Tom Corrigan of Mackinac Island, MI and Phyllis Corrigan of Wheeling, IL; her sisters Cathy Corrigan of Wheeling, IL and Susan (Rick) DeLucio of Temecula, CA; mother-in-law Harriet Paolella of Grayslake, IL, and sister-in-law Susan Foster of Wauconda, IL; nieces Lily DeLucio and Nicole Foster, and nephews James DeLucio, Matthew Foster, Trevor and Mason Belpedio.

Visitation for Emily will be from 4:00 – 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 14^th at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, 101 Park Pl, Libertyville, where there will be a funeral service at 7:30. Interment will be at her beloved Mackinac Island on July 28^th. In lieu of flowers, memorials made to Mackinac State Historic Parks via www.mackinacassociates.com Funeral info (847) 362-2626. Please sign the guestbook at libertyvillefuneralhome.com

Emily's service will be livestreamed at 7:30 pm on Thursday via the following link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84813610501?pwd=Z0NUNDQ4YUhBdno2bWREYWtMeGdLdz09

Or you may us the following zoom credentials

Meeting ID: 848 1361 0501
Passcode: 884498