The vivacious, hilarious and compassionate Kathleen “Kate” Mae Palermo, age 19, passed away on Thursday November 22 as a result of complications from treatment for leukemia. Kate is the cherished daughter of Joan Vander Linde and James Palermo; much-loved sister of Madeline Palermo; adored niece of Karen (Tom Shaffer) and Len Vander Linde, Nancy (Bob) Yettah, Cathy Sullivan, and Liz (Eric) Hedberg; treasured cousin of Rebecca, Sean (Caitlyn) and Joel Vander Linde, and Jon, Chris and Elizabeth Shaffer; and valued friend of many.

Kate was born in Chicago on February 23, 1999 and lived her entire life in La Grange, Illinois. Kate graduated from Lyons Township High School in 2017 and was attending her dream school, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when she relapsed earlier this year. While in high school, Kate was on the staff of The Lion newspaper and a member of both the tennis and badminton teams. She was also very active outside of high school.  At Michigan, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and on the planning committee for MRelay, University of Michigan’s Relay for Life event.

Since first being diagnosed with leukemia in 2011, Kate chose to use her experiences to help other children with health problems, particularly cancer. Kate was a valued member of the Kids Advisory Board at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, whose mission is to recommend change that positively affects patient care at the hospital. She also was an active participant in the International Children’s Advisory Network (iCAN) whose mission is to foster greater global understanding about the importance of the pediatric patient and caregiver voice in healthcare, clinical trials and research. In furtherance of iCAN’s mission, Kate spoke about her clinical trial experiences at the Eli Lilly Pediatric Symposium at Eli Lilly’s headquarters in Indianapolis and the Drug Information Association national conference at McCormack Place in Chicago. 

Kate was featured in numerous television segments and newspaper articles advocating for the need for pediatric clinical trials as well as fertility preservation for female cancer patients.  Kate also often spoke at fundraising events for the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Bear Necessities.

Besides her passion for advocacy, Kate loved every type of social media, all things Apple, traveling, watching The Simpsons, shopping, beauty products, correcting others grammar, a good pun or homonym, the University of Michigan, but none of these more than her boyfriend Sean McGuire and her australian shepard Lily.

Memorial Visitation will be held Thursday, December 20 from 3pm to 9pm at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55^th St., Countryside. A Service in Celebration of Kate’s Life will be held at 1 pm on Friday, December 21 at First Congregational Church of Western Springs, 1106 Chestnut St., Western Springs. Interment will be private. Memorial donations may be made to Cal’s Angels (www.calsangels.org) and iCAN Research (www.icanresearch.org).