Cover photo for Lynn Morton Pensinger's Obituary
Lynn Morton Pensinger Profile Photo
1938 Lynn 2019

Lynn Morton Pensinger

July 15, 1938 — September 1, 2019

Davenport Crystal Lake

Lynn Morton Pensinger, 81, of Woodstock, Illinois, died peacefully on September 1, 2019, at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. A Visitation will be held on Friday, September 13, from 4-7pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. (Rte. 176), Crystal Lake and a Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 14, at 10am at First Congregational Church, 461 Pierson St., Crystal Lake.

She is survived by her husband, Ray, and two children, Matthew (Wendy Day) of Chicago and Ashley (David Sok) of Chicago and four grandchildren, Mia Pensinger-Sok (10), Henry Pensinger (9), Alex Pensinger (9) and Leo Pensinger-Sok (7) and her sister, Mary Roeder, of Lexington, Massachusetts.

Lynn was born on July 15, 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the youngest of two children to Elizabeth and Frederick Morton. The family later moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she graduated from West High School.

Lynn initially attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison where she graduated with a degree in early childhood education. After graduation, she moved to Connecticut and then to Boston where she taught kindergarten.

Lynn met Dr. Ray Pensinger while living in Boston and they were married on December 30, 1967. They moved together to Chicago where Ray was starting his career as a physician and ultimately settled in Woodstock when Ray joined a medical practice there. After taking several years off from teaching in order to raise her children, Lynn returned to the classroom where she taught for many years at Kids Unlimited Preschool in Woodstock.

Among Lynn’s many passions were the arts, children, travel, gardening and being a grandmother. She was a long-time supporter of the Woodstock Opera House and volunteered her time extensively in the Woodstock Fine Arts Association to help renovate of the Opera House and support music and theater programs in the local community. In addition, her love of gardening manifested itself through her long membership in the Bull Valley Garden Club and in partnering with her friend, Nancy Jung, to start a Bull Valley beautification effort that led to the planting of thousands of daffodils along many Bull Valley roads and having Fleming Road named a McHenry County Scenic Drive in 2011. The fruits of her multi-year efforts can be witnessed each spring with the explosion of daffodils all across Bull Valley.

Lynn also had a life-long love of travel and a curiosity to explore sites and experience cultures across the world. She and Ray traveled together to Europe many times and also reached Africa, Asia and Australia across their many adventures. In recent years, their trips included visits to see her daughter Ashley and family who lived abroad in both France and Cambodia before returning to Chicago last year.

Another of Lynn’s passions was her love of Northern Michigan and her connection to the Bay View Association in Petoskey where she and Ray have owned a cottage for over 20 years. Lynn greatly enjoyed spending the summer months in Bay View where she actively participated in the Association’s arts and adult education programs. At Bay View, she was also an enthusiastic member of the memorial garden committee and croquet club where she loved to don an all-white outfit for an afternoon roll.

In recent years, Lynn had faced the significant challenge of living with dementia. While it was difficult to face the long-term prognosis of her condition, Lynn never lost the positive spirit and zest for life that so many of her family and friends knew to be her way. And, she was blessed to have many dear friends whose love, gentle kindness and unwavering support meant so much to Lynn and her family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Lynn’s memory to the First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake, www.fcc-cl.org/donate or to the Performing Arts program at the Bay View Association www.bayviewassociation.org/.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lynn Morton Pensinger, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Friday, September 13, 2019

4:00 - 7:00 pm (Central time)

Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory

419 East Terra Cotta Avenue, Crystal Lake, IL 60014

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Funeral Service

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Starts at 10:00 am (Central time)

First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake

461 Pierson St, Crystal Lake, IL 60014

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