Cover photo for Christine Ellen (Birkenstock)  Stevens's Obituary
Christine Ellen (Birkenstock)  Stevens Profile Photo
1962 Christine 2021

Christine Ellen (Birkenstock) Stevens

June 12, 1962 — December 25, 2021

Davenport, Barrington

Christine Ellen Stevens, 59, of Barrington Hills, passed away on 12/25/2021 after a long battle with cancer.

Chris was born on June 12, 1962, to Karl and Bernice Birkenstock in Oak Park, Il. Her family lived in Park Ridge, IL until Chris was 4 and then moved to Barrington, IL. After graduating in 1980 from Barrington High School, Barrington, IL. she went on to study

Nursing at Harper College Palatine IL. and Northern Illinois University (NIU), Dekalb, IL. After graduation, she then started working for Woodfield Pediatrics.  She valued education, so she continued to take classes and attended business seminars for many years because she believed knowledge was power and she preached that to everyone around her for her whole life.

In 1993, she met James Bryan Stevens, and they wed in 1995, going on to have 2 children, Shannon Victoria Stevens was first to arrive after 7 years of trying in 2002, she is now 19, and 3 years later they had Daniel Hunter Stevens in 2005, who is now 16.

When Chris had Shannon, she decided to dedicate her life to being a fantastic and long- awaited mother while she assisted Bryan with his business. Chris excelled at helping her mother and father, her husband and her kids, as well as her twin sister Eva Cole, and the rest of her family and friends, supporting them by being a room mom, running the book fair, picking up her niece and nephew when her sister was at work, cooking, cleaning, and driving kids to and from activities and friends houses. She supported the dreams of her husband's business and children’s passions in music or modeling by taking them regional and state pageants or plays and loved to help her friends with whatever they needed. She made it her mission to improve the lives of others wherever she went.

Chris was passionate about many things; one thing being raising Arabian horses. She partnered with her sister in Hawks Haven Arabians, they showed horse at the regional and national level for several years. To relax Chris loved trail riding as a part of the Barrington Hills Riding Club, she also enjoyed being part of the 4th of July parade, driving the family buggy for the Barrington Historical Society in period garb and joining  the Barrington Hills Buggy Club for lunch outings. She spent countless hours fulfilling her daughter's love for Beauty Pageants by taking her to many events regionally and state wide and supporting her from the crowd at every single one.

She constantly filled her home and every room she walked into with warmth and love. We will miss her greatly. Many of her friends and family members could attest to her generous, caring, and loyal personality because she filled everyone's lives with happiness and helped anyone in need. She loved her family immensely and would've done and did anything for them. Christine always had a deep love for animals, and she had many pets throughout her life, but she had the closest connection to her dog, and best friend, Gidget. Chris got Gidget as a Christmas gift from Eva in 2013 and they were inseparable ever since. When Chris was sick and bedridden, Gidget would sit with her all day and comfort her. It would be wrong to try to summarize Christine's life without mentioning Gidget. She loved that dog with her entire being.

Chris was predeceased by several aunts and uncles her maternal Grandparents Clayton and Eva Nelson nee Shannon, paternal Grandparents Wilhelm and Christine Birkenstock nee Van Jindlt , and her mother Bernice Birkenstock Nelson. She is survived by her father, Karl Birkenstock, husband of 26 years James Bryan Stevens, daughter Shannon, son Daniel and her twin sister Eva Cole.

Visitation for Christine will be held January 21, 2022 from 5-9pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 941 S Old Rand Rd, Lake Zurich, IL 60047. Visitation will continue the following day, January 22, from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Barrington.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers please make a donation in Chris’s name to one of these charities: American Cancer Society ( https://donate3.cancer.org ), St. Jude

Cancer Charity ( https://donate3.cancer.org ) or the Hooved Animal Human Society for which Eva Cole will collect those donations and make one memorial donation in

Chris’s name , however if you prefer to send flowers or notes they can be sent to the funeral home.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Christine Ellen (Birkenstock) Stevens, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Friday, January 21, 2022

5:00 - 9:00 pm (Central time)

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Second Visitation

Saturday, January 22, 2022

10:00 - 11:00 am (Central time)

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Funeral Service

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Starts at 11:00 am (Central time)

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Burial

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Starts at 12:00 pm (Central time)

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