The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund honors the women who lost their lives in the Tinley Park tragedy:

Rhoda McFarland, 42

Rhoda McFarland was the Store Manager at the Tinley Park Lane Bryant. She was scheduled to be off on Saturday, February 2, but decided to stop by the store and assist with markdowns. Rhoda joined Lane Bryant in November 2006 as a full-time Sales Leader and was promoted to Store Manager in October 2007.

Before joining Lane Bryant, Rhoda worked as a pastor at a church in Crest Hill, Ill., where she was the leader of the youth ministry group.

She was also an active volunteer with Princess Unveiled, a mentoring service for pre-teen girls that addresses issues of peer pressure, puberty and self-esteem. In October 2007, Rhoda participated in Keeping Kids Warm as a volunteer.

Rhoda has been described by colleagues as a woman with a positive outlook and a devotion to helping others. She lived in Joliet, Illinois.

Jennifer L. Bishop, 34

Jennifer Bishop was enjoying a weekend away from home with her husband in the Chicago area. The mother of three was an intensive care nurse at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Ind., the town where she lived. She had worked there for 13 years.

She and her husband had traveled to Chicago for a roofing conference.
Jennifer was the mother of three young children, Jacob, 7, Joci, 5, and six-month old A.J. Her husband Brian released a statement about his wife describing her as a “beloved daughter, sister, aunt, wife, but most of all mother.”

A co-worker of Jennifer described her as an “exceptional nurse and a great mom.” She is being remembered for the sensitivity she showed toward her patients and her ever present smile.

Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33

After earning her master’s degree in social work, Carrie Hudek Chiuso decided to help students at the very same high school she attended. She worked as a counselor at Homewood-Flossmoor High School (Flossmoor, Ill.) since 2003. Carrie’s commitment to her students was evident in her work. She launched more than a dozen support groups which discussed topics such as divorce, anger management and typical teenage topics.

A colleague described Carrie as “very well-respected and adored by her students.”

Carrie was shopping last Saturday for an outfit to wear to a get-together with her old college friends.

She was married in 2006 to her husband Tony Chiuso and lived in Frankfort, Illinois.

Sarah Szafranski, 22

Sarah Szafranski was excited about her new job in the accounting department at CNA Financial in downtown Chicago. She traveled there each day from her home in Oak Forest, Illinois.

Sarah visited Lane Bryant last Saturday to purchase some winter “work” clothes.

Sarah graduated college in May, 2007 and had just begun her career. "She was probably the nicest girl I have ever met in my life," said her college roommate Pete Inorio. "She was smart and funny. She was just a sweetheart."

In her free time Sarah loved to play board games. She especially enjoyed Cranium and online geography quizzes.

Her devastated family released a statement saying: "Sarah was loved by all who knew her and we are counting on that love to sustain us while we mourn."

Connie R. Woolfolk, 37

It was going to be a rare girls’ night out for Connie Woolfolk on February 2. The single mother of two boys, Maeric Rodriguez, 10, and Victor Rodriguez, 16, had plans to meet friends for a birthday party that evening. She stopped in Lane Bryant for a new outfit.

Connie, from Flossmoor, Ill., worked as a mortgage lender during the day and stocked shelves some nights at a nearby Target store. Her life revolved around her two sons. Ten-year old Maeric suffers from spina bifida, and demanded much of Connie’s time and attention. Family members remembered Connie as the event planner of the family. She lived with her mother and their home served as the meeting place for birthday parties, holidays and cookouts.

Her friend Joanne Hill described Connie as a “great mom.”

Our thoughts go out to the families of these women.