Paulette J. Goracio Bentley

Paulette Joy Goracio Bentley, age 75, a long-time resident of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, passed away peacefully on August 5, 2023. Paulette was born in Lake Forest, Illinois and raised in Waukegan, Illinois. She graduated from Waukegan High School. At the young age of 18, Paulette started working for Jewel/Albertson food stores where she worked her way up the ladder to management and became a Front-End Manager. She provided leadership to employees and was responsible for daily operations for all checkers, baggers, and front-end staff. She managed all cash flow, expense control, hiring, scheduling and performance management while maintaining all regulatory compliance measures. Paulette was very dedicated to her career and took tremendous pride in her work. She traveled to many regional stores around Illinois and was often given the task of streamlining operations at struggling stores to ensure customers received superior customer service. No matter what store you visited, customers and employees all knew Paulette and appreciated the strong relationships she built. Paulette retired after serving 50 years in the industry. Paulette was a huge Chicago sports team fan and loved her Bears, Bulls, Cubbies and Blackhawks. She had season tickets to many and collected memorabilia for each team that she cherished. She enjoyed gardening and ceramics, but most of all adored spending precious time with family and friends, spending countless hours laughing, gossiping, and creating many lasting memories that will never be forgotten. Paulette was so passionate about family that she started to document her family history and reached out to others which resulted in the creation of a beautiful family history book with photographs and significant milestones that will be passed down for generations. Paulette also looked forward to being part of her Aunt Sena’s family Christmas Tree business. She precisely kept track of sales and welcomed everyone with a warm “Merry Christmas” greeting. Paulette was the loving mother of Jennifer Bentley Jones and grandmother of Lochlan Jones, who was truly the apple of her eye. The moment Lochlan was born, he brought such joy, happiness and love into her life. She is survived by her sister, Anne Goracio; cousins, Wendy (Patrick) Lusk, Debbie (Frank) Svete, Maryjo (Jon) Smith, Lori (Mike) Lasko, Antonio (Maria) Goracio, Joy (Patrick) Vaughn, Gary (Marcy) Goracio, David Goracio, Kim Placentino and Richard “Bo” (Brenda) Ramig. Preceded in death by her parents, Joy Rosette Ramig and Paul (Winnifred) Goracio; her grandparents, Mary Federico, Philip Goracio, Mike Placentino, Rose Tevogt Ramig and Richard Ramig; and uncles, Joseph Goracio, Anton (Margaret) Goracio, Frank (Sena Cascarano) Placentino, Helena Goracio (Art) Neuhalfen. A graveside service will be held at 11:30 am on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at Ascension Catholic Cemetery, 1920 Buckley Road, Libertyville, IL. Following the interment, family and friends are invited to a memorial gathering at Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest, IL. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Paulette’s name may be made online to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at www.jdrf.org. For information – Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest (847) 234-9649 or www.RTfunerals.com.

Paulette J. Goracio Bentley

August 2, 1948 - August 5, 2023