Rae Genevieve Kolar Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Rae was born in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago at the home of her Norwegian parents Ragnwald George Solum and Edith Charlotte Nilsen. Rae attended Portage Park Primary School and Carl Schurz High School. Rae often referred to the excellent public education she received including classes in Latin and French, astronomy, music and ballet. that prepared her for university. In 1935 Rae entered Northwestern University with a major in English and Speech before switching to Education. She made lifelong friendships while a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. In her first year at Northwestern she met her future husband Milton Kolar on a blind date. Rae and Milton were married July 4, 1940. Rae and her husband lived in an apartment on Kenmore St in Chicago before moving to a house in Portage Park near Rae's family .. Rae's first job-as a telephone operator-was terminated when she tested positive for tuberculosis. Rae's two children Caryn Rae and Britton Ward joined the family in I 943 and 1946 respectively .. In 1950 the Kolar family moved to the Chicago suburb of Wilmette motivated mainly by the availability of good schools. Their third child Christine Edith was born in 1956. Rae was very active in the community including as a den mother, Brownie and Girl Scout leader, and on the altar guild of the Lutheran Church. Summers were spent on Washington Island, WI and Long Beach, IN with family and friends. Rae's husband was transferred to Dallas, TX in 1959. It was a real shock for them to live in the segregated South. By 1963 they were back in the Chicago area living in Lake Forest until 1986. Rae was on the Alumni Council of Northwestern in the 1970s receiving a service award in 1974 and continued to tutor students in English literature. In their retirement, the Kolars spent half the year in Sarasota, FL and half the year on Washington Island, WI . Rae continued her volunteer work for Northwestern University by interviewing prospective students in Sarasota. Rae and Milton enjoyed international travel including visits to their children living in Turkey, Cyprus and France .They also visited their ancestral homes in Norway and the Czech Republic. Rae's other interests included tennis, golf, swimming, piano, gardening, documenting and writing family history, playing bridge, and entertaining family and friends with her excellent cooking .. She loved animals, especially cats. After Milton's death in 1992 Rae continued living in Sarasota and on Washington Island before moving to Washington DC in 2014. She lived in her own apartment in Tenleytown at Friendship Terrace about 10 minutes from her daughter Caryn, son Britt and his wife Margi, grandson Leigh and grand daughter Laura. In late September 2021 following a fall and rehab, Rae re-located to the Lisner Home in NW DC where she spent her final days. At age 103 ½, she had a peaceful death accompanied by her daughter Caryn and her grandson Leigh and his wife Liliana. The cause of death was heart failure. Rae was preceded in death by her husband Milton Kolar (1992), grandson Leigh's wife Kate Miller (2001) and brother Wallace Solum .(2002) .. A devoted mother of three children Raeis survived byr daughter Caryn Miller, Washington DC, son Britton Kolar (Margi) Washington DC/Hailey. ID and daughter Christine Leclerc, Las Vegas, NV. She also is survived by: 5 grandchildren Leigh Miller (Liliana Sanchez) Washington DC, Brooks Miller(lsabelle Laurier) Brooklyn NY, Jordan Kolar (Ilana Nossel) NYC, NY, Laura Kolar (John Silson) Washington DC, Nathan Kolar (Tenaya) Hailey, ID, 8 great grandchildren, 4 nieces and nephews, many cousins in the Rade area south of Oslo, Norway .and lifelong friends throughout the US. A celebration of life is planned for summer 2022 on Washington Island, WI.. In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Rae can be made to: Trinity Lutheran Church 1765 Town Line Road, Washington Island, WI 54246 Washington Island Historical Archives, Community Center, Main Rd., Washington Island, WI 54246 Washington Island Music Festival PO Box 235 Washington Island, WI 54246 Animal Welfare League of Alexandria 410 l Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, VA 22304

Rae Genevieve Kolar

July 17, 1918 - February 24, 2022