Sylvia Doris Dunne

Sylvia Doris Dunne, age 93, passed away on June 25, 2026.

Sylvia was born in 1932, in Detroit, Michigan, to Sebouh ("Jack") and Nona Hagopian. From an early age, she had an eye for fashion and style, perhaps originating from her rich Armenian heritage and creative culture. As a young adult, she worked at Detroit's Hudson's Department Store; one of her customers was Mrs. Henry Ford. She attended the University of Michigan on a full academic scholarship, where she met Barry Dunne in a Russian Literature class. They married in 1953.

Sylvia devoted many years to raising their four children, creating a warm and welcoming home in Flossmoor, Illinois. She approached homemaking with the same care and determination that she would later bring to her professional life.

As her children grew older, Sylvia's entrepreneurial spirit led her to co-found Career Discovery, Inc., a recruitment-placement firm specializing in administrative support, sales, legal-related, and other executive positions with Catherine Dunne, her daughter-in-law. Through her keen instincts, determination, and ability to connect with people, she continued to build the business into a successful enterprise that served clients and job seekers for nearly 30 years.

After 37 years of marriage, Sylvia started a new chapter of her life and moved to downtown Chicago, a long-time dream. She loved theater, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Cubs, the Magnificent Mile and travel, especially international.

In retirement, Sylvia played bridge six days a week. She was a fiercely competitive bridge player who achieved the rank of ruby life master. She approached every match as both a challenge and an opportunity to learn, often replaying each hand afterward to analyze every decision and uncover what she could have done differently. Sylvia was also a mentor to many newer bridge players.

Sylvia loved beautiful clothing and always felt one must dress for success, at almost any cost. Yet being a depression baby, she watched her pennies by clipping coupons at Jewel and driving long distances to save $0.05/gallon on gas. Family and friends smiled at these contradictions because they were so quintessentially Sylvia.

Above all, Sylvia was a people person. She treasured her family and friends and never wanted to miss out on an opportunity to be part of their lives. Her legendary case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) extended even to her final days. She embraced life with enthusiasm, curiosity, and determination until the very end. She lived life to its fullest and will be deeply missed

Sylvia was preceded in death by her parents and her younger brother, Richard Hagopian.

She leaves behind her 4 children Barry (Carol), Richard (Catherine), Michael (Nancy) and Kathleen; 9 grandchildren Courtney (Chris), Meaghan (Michael), Alyssa, Eric (Annie), Murphy, Ryan (Meg), Erin (Dan), Kevin and Colin; 6 great grandchildren who loved her dearly; and many friends whose lives were enriched by her warmth, wit, and vibrant personality.

Family and friends will meet Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at Holy Name Cathedral, 735 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for a celebration of Sylvia’s life. Free parking for Holy Name Cathedral is available at 14 West Superior Street (between Dearborn Street and State Street), located in the One Chicago building. Please take a ticket for validation and use any nonreserved parking space on Lower Level One (LL1) or Lower Level Two (LL2). For more parking information: https://holynamecathedral.org/directions-parking/

In lieu of flowers, please support Sylvia’s favorite charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org and Tunnel to Towers Foundation, https://t2t.org.

For further information please call Michalik Funeral Home at 312-421-0936.