SAUGANASH — Traci Heredia Lovell, like many single mothers, had been caught between a rock and a hard place.
Her daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts, but there was no way for Lovell to pick her daughter up from school, take her to the meetings and get her back home again.
But like a bolt out of the blue, Kim Walton Zalinski — a complete stranger — called with a solution.
"Kim's daughter had told her that my daughter, a classmate, wanted to be in Girl Scouts, but I couldn't take her," Lovell said. "So she called, and volunteered to take her to the meetings and back home. I was stunned."
Zalinski, a Chicago Police officer, and gave Lovell her badge number, assuring her that her daughter would be in good hands. The moms — and their daughters — were soon close friends.
A 19-year veteran of the force, Zalinski, 44, died unexpectedly June 12, leaving a gaping hole in the fabric of the community surrounding Sauganash Elementary School, where she helped lead the Parent-Teacher Association, friends and teachers said.
"She was at the school more than some teachers," said Tracy Seglin, who worked on the PTA with Zalinski. "She was absolutely tireless."
Determined to help Zalinski's family, including her husband, who is also a Chicago Police officer, and young son, Lovell launched an online fundraising campaign to ease the financial crunch caused by her death.
"If it was anyone else, Kim would have done the same thing," Lovell said. "We are just paying it forward."
[Submitted photo]
The cause and manner of Zalinski's death has not yet been established, said Becky Schlikerman, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Zalinski had not been ill before she died, less than a week before her daughter, Hannah, graduated from eighth grade, Lovell said.
"The whole thing is incredibly sad," Lovell said.
In five days, the effort raised $9,300 toward its $15,000 goal — a testament to all of the people Zalinski helped, Lovell said.
"It was amazing how much she juggled," Lovell said. "She did everything 500 percent. She didn't do anything halfway."
Hannah Zalinski will attend Regina Dominican College Prep High School in Wilmette. The money raised will be used to help defray her tuition as well as expenses, Lovell said.
Zalinski's wake is scheduled for 1-9 p.m. Saturday at the Smith Corcoran Funeral Home, 6150 N. Cicero Ave. Her funeral will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday, also at the funeral home.
Zalinski, who raised $50,000 for Sauganash Elementary through the PTA, most recently helped organize the school's Spring Fling and the eighth-grade picnic to celebrate the graduates.
"You could feel her absence at the picnic," Lovell said. "It was profound."
Zalinski's death was also felt at Sauganash's eighth-grade graduation, where officers lined the graduates' path into the ceremony, some holding balloons, in Zalinski's memory.
"They all came out for Hannah," Seglin said. "They knew that her mom couldn't be there, so they were there for her. It was very moving, and very unexpected."
Contingent of Chicago's finest came to the Sauganash graduation to pay tribute and support to the Zalinski family. pic.twitter.com/DNh4sinlP4
— Mrs. Kelly (@MrsKellysArtRm) June 18, 2016
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