Ann Therese Parisi Messer

Ann Therese Parisi Messer of Barrington Hills, Illinois passed away on November 12, 2026, at the age of 65. She was a beloved wife, mother, and sister, and a dear friend to so many.

Ann was born on October 15, 1961, in Park Ridge, Illinois, to Dominick and Mary Parisi. One of five children, Ann grew up in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood. She studied biology at Northern Illinois University, graduating in 1984 and earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1988. She began her legal career at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, went on to the Chicago law firm of Peterson & Ross and later practiced environmental law at Brown Martin in Chicago, where she worked until she retired from law in 1996 to raise her children. Ann continued working for her family’s businesses and in 2009 co-founded Junk Warehouse, Etc., LLC, which sold vintage and antique furniture and arts. Ann also became an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers, and in 2013 established APM Consultants, LLC, where she studied and appraised antiques, fine art and other personal property. In 2022 Ann rounded out her career by establishing Annie P LLC, a small business and life coaching consultancy. She also reinstated her law license and re-started the practice of law.

Ann met her husband Joseph in law school, and they were married in 1992 at Saint Clement Church in Chicago after falling in love in Venice, Italy.

Of all the things Ann did in life, being a mother to her sons Joseph, James, and Matthew meant the most to her and made the greatest positive impact. She gave her sons loving, firm guidance and made their home a warm and welcoming place. They remember her smile, compassionate and engaging conversation, and the wonderful meals she made for them.

Ann was an exceptional listener and a gifted problem solver. When someone came to her with a worry, she gave them her full attention. She asked thoughtful questions and had a way of seeing a path forward when it was hard for others to see one. People warmed to Ann as soon as they met her. In Illinois, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and in Longboat Key, Florida, she made dear friends and drew them into her life as family.

Ann was an amazing tennis player, often beating women 15 years her junior. Her great net game transferred exceptionally well to paddle tennis and pickleball (a sport she occasionally allowed her husband to beat her at). Ann loved to ski, hike and bike, and was always up for a good, long walk.

Ann loved trees, flowers, and the natural world. She tended to a remarkable vegetable garden full of flowers, abundant enough to feed her family and friends and share its harvest with the local food bank. Ann applied her exceptionally good taste and creativity to make her home and gardens gorgeous places to be. Ann had a magical knack for turning the mundane into the beautiful.

Ann was generous with her time. From 2013 through 2019 she spent countless hours volunteering for Hands of Hope, which helped develop underserved areas of Sub-Saharan Africa by building wells, agricultural opportunities, schools, and clinics. From 2017 to 2020 Ann served as a Board Member of the Barrington Area Conservation Trust, which preserves rare and exceptional open spaces for current and future generations. Ann subsequently served as a committee member for Walk on Farm, an organization which provides equine assisted activities for people with physical, cognitive, social and emotional disabilities. With her gift for organizing and her contagious energy, Ann brought people together and helped them take on challenges that would otherwise have been beyond their reach. Perhaps Ann’s largest contribution to humanity was her agreement to volunteer as the second patient to participate in the two drug study of Daraxonrasin + TNG462 at UCLA’s Cancer Treatment Center for Clinical Studies. The trial was successful and on August 26, 2026, the FDA approved Daraxonrasib after it was determined that the drug offered significantly longer survival and improved disease control than standard chemotherapy.

Ann is survived by her husband, Joseph S. Messer, and their three sons, Joseph P. Messer (Colleen) age 31, James S. Messer age 29, and Matthew V. Messer age 25. She is also survived by her siblings, Mary Marino, Tony Parisi, Vince Parisi, and Dominick Parisi as well as her nieces and nephews, Traci, Nicole, and Joe Marino, Elisabeth and Dominick Parisi, Cali Rose and Ellie Parisi, and Christopher, Nicolas, and Michael Parisi.

Her parents, Dominick and Mary Parisi, preceded her in death.

A Funeral Visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 149 West Main Street, Barrington, IL 60010.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. with a visitation the hour prior, all at St. Anne Catholic Church, 120 Ela Street, Barrington, IL 60010

There will be a luncheon following the funeral at Biltmore Country Club.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and dedicated to Ann P. Messer.

Ann will be deeply missed by her family, and by her friends who became family. They will remember her on walks, in the garden, around the table, and for the quiet moments of talking in the sanctuary of her backyard porch.