Carol Rauner O’Donovan

Carol Rauner O’Donovan, nee Kopay, age 71, died peacefully on March 1 at her Lincoln Park home, where during a long illness she had been cared for by her loving husband of 11 years, T. Paul B. O’Donovan, M.D., and her devoted daughter Larisa Olson (daughter of Norm Olson). She is also survived by her adored grandson, Aldric (Jack) Martinez-Olson.

A Chicago native reared primarily by her late father Steven Kopay, Carol received her B.A. in Anthropology from University of Illinois in 1963, where she studied under Oscar Lewis (The Children of Sanchez). After earning an MSW from Smith College in 1969, she worked as a social worker in Chicago and Fort Wayne, IN. She then started a private practice as a clinical psychotherapist, first in La Grange, IL, and later at her home in Lincoln Park. It was a special delight to her that her dear friend, journalist Laura Green, described in Reinventing Home: Six Working Women Look at their Home Lives how a close-knit group of Chicago neighborhood women gathered frequently on Carol’s front stoop.

Carol possessed an extraordinarily curious mind and a keen intellect, and in recent decades she became an inveterate traveler, spending much time in Europe and Japan. She took a great interest in a wide range of music and cultures over the years, even to studying conversational Japanese.

From 1993 through 1997, her primary residence was Galena, IL, but she always kept a home in Chicago. After the passing of her beloved second husband, Vincent J. Rauner in 1997, she became an energetic volunteer with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she was a member of the board of the Women’s Association, the Theodore Thomas Society. Her energetic dedication to the CSO was especially evident in her advocacy for Adventures in Music (AIM), a program that encourages exposure to and love of music in families in underserved areas. She enjoyed accompanying the CSO on many international and domestic tours. She and her husband Paul, who married on March 17, 2002, enjoyed extensive travel throughout Europe and Japan.