Marsha Ann Ulbrich

Marsha Ann Ulbrich (nee Minton), 77, of North Barrington, formerly of Mount Prospect, passed away peacefully on January 8, 2026 in the company of family, after a period of declining health. She was born May 17, 1948 in Indianapolis to the late Bernie and Dorothy (nee Groene) Minton. At six years old, her family moved to Mount Prospect, IL where she resided for the next 43 years, which included the time raising her three children, all while a member of St. Raymond Parish. She was a proud member of the first graduating class of Sacred Heart of Mary High School, in Rolling Meadows in 1965. At age 19, she became a bride, and shortly after, a mother. She served as a dedicated nurse at Glenbrook hospital in the ‘70s, and ‘80s, largely trying to pick up shifts while her children were sleeping, or at school. This nursing background informed Marsha in carefully coordinating the medical care of her parents in their later years.

In 1989, she made a career change and was a part of the original sales team of the Jack Nicklaus Wynstone Golf Course community in Barrington, which then evolved into a hall-of-fame career as a real estate broker, setting a new industry bar for luxury marketing and presentation. It is no exaggeration to say that she was a cornerstone in moving from the 400 vacant-lots infancy -- through the period of new majestic home neighborhood formation -- to the later flourishing mature-community stage. An industry peer this week noted that Marsha’s contributions to the Chicago-area real estate market were legendary, and her professional legacy lives on in the community she helped build from the ground up.

She was a real character – sharp wit, charisma, a riot. Her generosity at Christmas bordered on the absurd – but made the season magical for so very many. On December 18, 2024, she was devasted by the unexpected loss of her 45-year old son, the late Jeffrey Ulbrich (Daniela Milinkovich) to colon cancer. She used the tragedy as a turning point – and spent the last year on what matters most, successfully getting her various relationships right, before leaving this Earth.

She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Ulbrich, and her son Rick (Sheila) Ulbrich. Her siblings include Michael Minton, the late Margie Bryon, Monica Leone, and Mary Marwitz. Her five grandchildren are Mackenzie and Christopher Duprez; and Leah, Colin, and Noah Ulbrich. She also loved being an aunt to 13 nieces and nephews, and was heartbroken to lose her nephew Joey Reuter, and her niece Michelle Byron.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 24 from 9:30am until the time of the Funeral Mass at 11am at St. Raymond de Penefort Church, 301 S. Elmhurst, Mount Prospect, IL 60065. Burial at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery in Palatine will immediately follow. Then a Celebration of Life Memorial Luncheon at the Club at Wynstone at 1:30 pm located at 1 S. Wynstone in Barrington. All invited (even those unable to attend earlier services) preferably for lunch, but even if just a drink or a hello. 

Flowers are limited at the church, therefore donations to the National MS Society via this link: https://donate.nationalmssociety.org/campaign/Marsha-Ann-Ulbrich in her memory, are deeply appreciated and preferred. This organization was important to Marsha as her granddaughter, Mackenzie, is courageously living each day in the fight to keep this disease from progressing.