Tracy L (Mandelka) Johnson

Tracy L. Johnson (Mandelka), 53, formerly of Des Plaines IL, currently of Melbourne, FL passed
away on May 20th, 2024 , after a short battle with rare Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) cancer. Born
August 3 rd , 1970, in Park Ridge, IL to Shirlee Paluch (nee Fawcett) and Cary Mandelka, she is
preceded in death by stepfather Stephen Paluch Sr., and husband Andrew K. Johnson and
survived by husband William Arnold, daughter Kaylin Johnson, stepson John Arnold, sister
Christine Baumruk (Joe), brother Steven Mandelka (Anita), stepbrother Lawrence J Paluch
(Tracy), stepbrother Stephen Paluch Jr., stepsister Jennifer Paluch, and all of her beloved
nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Tracy began her esteemed career at Wheels Fleet Management Company in Des Plaines, IL in
1989. Part of the Wheels community for over 34 years, Tracy was Assistant Vice President of
Sales Effectiveness and as a highly valued member of the Wheels leadership team, she made
significant contributions to the success of the organization. Tracy’s care, compassion, and
commitment to those she worked with and managed is unsurpassable.
Most important to Tracy was spending time with family and friends. She found pure joy and
happiness in holding events for all to enjoy such as a Christmas Eve Drop In and her favorite
day of the year, Farm Aid. Her love of travel and the outdoors involved hiking the glaciers in
Alaska, exploring Europe (most recently Italy), kayaking, and boating in Florida and Wisconsin,
soaking in sunrises and sunsets and spending time at the beach. Tracy always had a great love
for music and one of her favorite past times was finding a live band in a local spot.
Visitation will be held Sunday, June 23, 10:00am to 2:00 p.m. at Cooney Funeral Home, 625
Busse Highway, in Park Ridge with a memorial remembrance at 1:30pm.
In leu of flowers donations can be made in Tracy’s name to Farm Aid at
https://give.farmaid.org