Concepcion (Connie) Dumaran Bohannen, 81, of Cissna Park, Illinois passed away on April 14th, 2025, at Alden Health Care Center in Desplaines, Illinois. She was born on June 14th, 1943, in Camarines Sur a Province in the Philippines, the daughter of Victorino and Iluminada Esguerra Dumaran. They preceded her in death along with her husband Thomas N Bohannen, married in Chicago on December 23, 1978.
She is survived by two sons, Jonathan (Sarah) Bohannen of Mahomet, and Jeffrey Bohannen of Chicago, and one daughter, Beth Anne (Tim) Biggs of Ballwin, MO as well as several grandchildren; Kiley, Nathan, Shelton, Sydney, Lillian, and Everett. She is also survived by her two sisters, Teresita Manila and Celestina Naval, one brother Victorino Dumaran Jr., and preceded her death was one sister, Angelina Dumaran. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces and nephews for which she is affectionately known as “Lola” or “Tita Baby”.
Connie graduated from Far East University in 1965 with her bachelor’s in nursing (BSN) and became a Registered Nurse on August 9th, 1966. She subsequently moved to Chicago and officially became a US citizen on January 17th, 1984. She had a long and successful career as a Registered Nurse at both Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Columbus Hospital.
Following retirement in 1993, Connie and her family moved to Kellart Lake in Cissna Park, IL where she enjoyed her new role as caretaker for her many animals- Sunny, Cher, Kiwi, Hickory, Dickory, Doc, Oreo, Charlie and of course the Muscovy Ducks that Tom insisted on raising.
She filled her days with many of her friends at the Kankakee Art League, watercolor painting, bird watching, planting flowers, gardening her many herbs, fruits and vegetables, enjoying the night sky staring at the stars, eating new and exotic foods, photography, traveling, and enjoying time with family and friends. She loved spending countless hours on the phone with her sisters and cousins. Connie was the “queen of selfies” and would never just take one picture, and if you were lucky, you would make it on her Facebook page usually stuffing your face with food while she grins ear to ear with her beautiful smile. She would often be found admiring the sunset and trying to capture all the brilliant colors in a photo, whether that be from the passenger side of the car or her backyard. She was able to find beauty anywhere. Connie found joy in preparing meals for others which included her biscotti, shrimp linguine, teriyaki beef, Italian beef, and numerous Filipino dishes which served as the family favorites.
Connie was a caring, compassionate, faithful mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to everyone she met and is dearly missed.
Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 24th, 2025, at the Knapp Funeral Home in Watseka, IL. A short memorial visitation will also be held on Friday, 25th from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at Knapp Funeral Home with a Catholic Mass to immediately follow at St. Edmund Catholic Church in Watseka, IL at 10:00 a.m.
Burial will be at Bailey Cemetery in Latona, IL on a later date.
Please share a memory of Connie at knappfuneralhomes.com.
