Former Owner of Joliet's Rainbow Bakery Leaves $1.8 Million to Silver Cross Foundation

By Tracy Simons | Silver Cross Hospital

The Silver Cross Foundation recently received an unforeseen $1.8 million gift from the estate of Jennie Mariner, a former Silver Cross Hospital trustee and volunteer. Mariner passed away in June at the age of 91 in Green Valley, AZ. Her generous bequest will be used to help pay for the $365 million replacement hospital, which opened in 2012 at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox.

“Although I never had the opportunity to meet Jennie, she was an extraordinary lady,” said Larry Johnson, Vice President of the Silver Cross Foundation. “Like clockwork, she would make an annual gift to Silver Cross. I always called to thank her. She would tell me about the weather in Arizona and I would give her an update on the new hospital construction or operations. We always had a nice chat. She really cared about making sure that superior medical care is available at Silver Cross.”

Jennie Mariner was born in Joliet on Oct. 23, 1923, to Hugh Barrett Carson and Emily Cheesbro. A graduate of Iowa State University, she married George Mariner in 1961. The couple owned and operated Rainbow Bakery.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Mariner donated her time and talents fundraising for several expansion and renovation projects at the former Silver Cross Hospital on Joliet’s eastside. She was a member of the Silver Cross Advisory Board, which operates the Encore (resale) Shop and donates proceeds from the store’s sales to the Hospital to purchase needed equipment. Mariner was also involved with Childerguild, a group once comprised of benevolent women who did not have children of their own. Today, Childerguild continues to support women and children’s services at Silver Cross by operating the Hospital’s Gift Shop and holding an annual Ball, which is scheduled for Nov. 22 at Bolingbrook Country Club. Mariner served as President of both ladies auxiliaries. Then in 1979, she was the first woman elected to the Silver Cross Hospital Board of Trustees.

“Jennie truly wanted to make a difference,” said Paul Pawlak, President and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital. “Through her selfless acts of kindness, over the past fifty years she has touched thousands of lives in such a positive way. Her generous estate gift will allow us to help many more patients in the years to come.”

In addition to her commitment to Silver Cross Hospital, Jennie Mariner was also President of the Woman of Rotary and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Joliet where she served as a deaconess and elder.

For more information about estate planning or to make a donation to the Silver Cross Foundation, call 815-300-7105.