Abbie R. Lukens MD
Abbie R. Lukens, MD age 93, of Burr Ridge. Pediatrician affiliated with LaGrange Memorial Hospital for many years. Beloved daughter of the late Rudolph and the late Addie Lukens. Abbie is survived by her loving nieces & nephews, Fred (Helen) Lukens, Mary Kleidon, William Lukens, Karl (Linda) Lukens, Arthur Lukens and Linda (the late Bary) Bougary, and many other loved grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Visitation Tuesday,May 6th, 3:00 – 9:00 pm at Hallowell & James Funeral Home 1025 W. 55th St., Countryside, where a chapel service will be held on Wednesday, May 7, at 10:30 am. Interment Bethania Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge would be appreciated. Funeral Home Phone :(708) 352-6500
Abbie was great pediatrician to myself, my sister and my oldest son so it meant generations of service to our family.
I am now 61; my sister Cory 57; and my son Matt 25. We’ll never forget how tough she was- tough but a great pediatrician who cared immensely for all of her patients.
Dr. Lukens made a huge impression on me as a 6-year-old. She was my new pediatrician, and our family had just moved to the area from Connecticut. I was on the exam table, and my mother said something funny. I had just discovered how to roll my eyes to the back of my head and cross them one at a time – very amusing for a kid. I made crazy eyes for a second and Dr. Lukens looked absolutely stricken with concern until my mom and I both started laughing. She smiled, and I have not forgotten how her no-nonsense demeanor had switched in a split-second to one of deep caring. I trusted her and went to her for exams even when I became too old to see a pediatrician. She is dearly missed.
Dr. Lukens saved my brother’s life. My Mom would bring her and her nurse’s lunch (in the 60’s) to see us during special circumstances when they were booked. She kicked me out when I was 18 and told me she could no longer be my doctor. Never even interviewed a pediatrician when I was pregnant and gave birth in to my son in 1982. She walked into my hospital room the day after my son was born and said “Oh my God, the Hibben’s (my maiden name) are back. She recognized me immediately and it had been 11 years since she and I had seen each other.
She was the best of the best in her medical field. She also sold her practice to a wonderful group. My last meeting with her was at a restaurant in Chicago at “Ciel Bleu”. Believe she told me at the time that it was one of her favorite “Brunch Restaurants”.
She will be missed by many
I was a young mom who had just had a baby girl at LaGrange Hospital on May 30, 1973. Dr. Lukens was the pediatrician for the hospital, so I could say it was by chance that we met her…but I don’t believe that was the case. It’s much more likely that she was heaven sent, as she helped my daughter and I through a very rough first three months with nursing/digestive issues. I will never forget the one time she examined my little girl, who was uncomfortable and very fussy with colic, when she reached into her pocket for a small brown bottle of liquid, opened the eye dropper top and let a few drops fall on my daughter’s feet. She then massaged the liquid into the bottoms of her feet and I watched my daughter stop fussing, allow her whole body to relax and give us both a big smile…a first in several weeks for the both my little one and myself. Dr. Lukens then handed me the bottle and told me to take it home and do the same treatment on those little baby feet two times a day for the next two weeks. And she gave me a bottle of little white pills to add good bacteria (acidophilus) to her newborn digestive system and told me to keep nursing as long as I could..no matter that my family and friends thought it best that I stop. We left that office restored, encouraged, relaxed and reassured that everything would be okay. And when I looked closely at the brown bottle of liquid, I saw the label stating, “Rescue Remedy”, a homeopathic medicine for anxiety, nervousness and hysteria…all of which my little girl and I were suffering from! Needless to say, Dr. Lukens healed my daughter’s digestive issues and she knew about that part of the story…what she didn’t know and I never had a chance to tell her, is that years later I began my education in natural medicine and homeopathy. That was almost 40 years ago and I am a practicing holistic doctor and homeopath to this very day. I credit Dr. Lukens with being my first doctor/teacher who, whether she knew it or not, gave me my very first lesson on becoming a natural health care practitioner. She not only helped my daughter’s health, but has always been an inspiring force for me with the hundreds of children/families I have worked with as patients, over the years. Interestingly enough, as the years have passed I would think of her now and then, but over the past few months, she has been coming to mind more frequently…and now that I’ve learned that she has passed, I think I better understand and would like to believe she is letting me know she’s still available to me…and coming from a very inspirational place! Rest in peace, dear Dr. Lukens, you will always be in my healer’s heart, I thank you for all you have done for me, my family, my patients and your patients…and, please know that I, too, carry a bottle of Rescue Remedy with me and I make it a point to give it (with your foot application instructions) to every new mom I treat…yes, Abbie, you have taught me well. 🙂 Michele
There were a couple memories I’ll forever remember about Dr. Lukens when I was so fortunate to have her as my pediatrician:
When I was a youngster, probably around 10 years old (now, I am 62), my father and I were playing catch with baseball in our backyard in Western Springs in which I fell backward over a wagon while making a beautiful over the shoulder catch. I fell on my left arm and was in serious pain as my father rushed me to the hospital for X-rays. While I had the feel that it was broken, the hospital did nothing more than put a sling on it and sent me home. While Dr. Lukens was informed of the accident, she did not take it for granted and went voluntarily to the hospital later that evening to re-examine the X-rays. Sure enough, she summoned me to go back for another X-ray in which it was found I had a fracture to my arm.
My mother, now 92 and at Plymouth Place, will never forget Dr. Lukens making an abrupt appearance at our home in
Western Springs late one summer evening again 50 years ago. My sister and I were both very sick and my mother talked to Dr. Lukens over the phone in which she said to put both of us in bed. My sister and I were laid out on the living room couches when Dr. Lukens abruptly and without any advance notice just walked in our front door. She found us lying quite innocently on the couches and scolded my mother that she said beds, not the couch. Needless to say, my mother did what she was told without hesitation.
Our family lost a friend and quite the doctor. Rest in peace, Dr. Lukens, we’ll miss you and never forget your loving care.
Bruce Wulff
I am now 61 and remember Dr. Lukens fondly. I remember being sick, about age 5, and she made a house call…at night. Sorry to just learn of her death.
Thank you so much to those who have left comments. She was a wonderful Aunt who looked after her family in every way she could. We all love her still.
I was just checking Google to see where Dr Lukens was today and discovered she had passed. Dr Lukens took great care of all 5 of my siblings. I remember that every time one of us would have an appointment that she would always take time to meet with my mother in her office where they would both smoke cigarettes (it was the sixties) and talk about their mutual passion- growing roses. My mother had lost one child to crib death and I think Dr Lukens always knew that she needed extra love and attention. She was a wonderful lady and I will always remember her warm smile and reassuring personality.