Fairdale tornado victim Jacklyn Klosa will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., her family announced Wednesday.
Klosa, 69, died in the April 9 tornado that ripped through the small farming community of Fairdale in DeKalb County. She was found clutching her purse in a bathroom around 10 a.m. April 10 by rescue workers.
Klosa was described as "one of the most friendly people in the world, a wonderful mother and a wonderful friend" by Kirkland Mayor Les Bellah following her death. In her obituary, published in the Rockford Register Star, her family wrote that she was "loved and respected by many special friends."
The mother and grandmother was born in Rochelle on Oct. 16. 1945. She was a retired quality control inspector for G.I.C. in Kirkland, where she worked for more than 20 years. Klosa was also a cancer survivor, defying the odds throughout her life.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur Klosa; her parents; three brothers; and one sister.
A total of eight tornadoes touched down in Illinois April 9, with the strongest one -- an EF-4 -- tearing through Fairdale and Rochelle. Geraldine "Geri" Schultz, one of Klosa's friends and neighbors, also died in the storm.
The family has not yet set the date for Klosa's memorial service. In lieu of flowers, they ask for donations to the Northern Illinois Veterans Memorial, which can be sent to Alpine Bank in Kirkland.
