North Shore Death Notices: April 26 to May 2

The following death notices were added to funeral homes serving the North Shore area in the past week. Those homes have provided obituaries for some of those that have passed away recently. Patch offers condolences to their loved ones, links to their obituaries and notices of upcoming services below.

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Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie and 195 N. Buffalo Grove Road in Buffalo Grove

Rebecca Lori Lieberman, 48, Arlington Heights
Service May 4

Nina Barsukova
Service May 4

Walter Julius Straus, 96, Evanston

Biana Levin née Lubensky, 91, Chicago

Muriel Shabat, 99, Wilmette

Anna Maryles, 88, Chicago

Sofia Vilk, 82, Wheeling

Yakov Skakunetskiy, 81, Hoffman Estates

David Ushkow, 79, Pembroke Pines, Florida

Abbie C. Weisberg née Hoffman, 57, Evanston

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Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie

Marjorie Jean Mackey Cassato, 96, Glenview

Joan Marie Pasek née Kares, 91, Glenview

Lawrence Helke, 90, Northbrook

Sandra "Sandy" Cosgrove née Stewart, 85, Kenilworth

Bren Adair Ortega-Murphy, 71, Evanston

Theresa Marie Kelly, 55, Winnetka

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Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Road in Skokie

Eleanore E. Bailey, 97, Elk Grove Village

Conway J. Dahmer, 91, Morton Grove

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Thompson Funeral and Cremation, 1917 Asbury Ave., in Evanston

Mary R. Tillman, 98, Evanston
Visitation May 7, service May 8

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Evanston Funeral and Cremation, 1726 Central St. in Evanston

Jeffrey Tyler Warmington, 67, Skokie

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N. H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road in Glenview

Waltin M. William, 83, Mt. Prospect
Service May 5

Pauline Caroline Burns née Mirocha, 91, Glenview

Regina Ann Campbell née Hill, 62, Wheeling

Daniel S. Sorrisso, 60, Northbrook

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Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster St. in Morton Grove

Angel Patino, 71, Waukegan
Service May 4

Harvey Walter Geiger, 90, Morton Grove

Donald J. Koop, 73, Glenview

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Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette

Sam Goldstein, 94, Chicago
Service May 4

Mary Baron née Waldman, 101, Northbrook

Susan Frances Messinger, 97, Chicago

Eugene L. Bronstein, 96, Naples, Florida

Donald Schultz, 88, Chicago

Ernesto José Finkelstein, 82, Glenview

Karen Lynn Tipp née Wagner, 74, Chicago

Rhonda Lynn Fields, 68, Marina Del Ray, California

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Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road in Highland Park

Donna L. Moran, 80, Lindenhurst
Service May 10

Weston Joseph Riesche, 32, Deerfield
Service May 15

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Seguin & Symonds Funeral Home, 858 Sheridan Road in Highwood and 11 West Belvidere Road in Grayslake

Fortina Flores Pedroza, 93, Round Lake Park
Visitation May 6, service May 7

Betty L. Bitetti, 85, Lake Forest
Service May 6

Elizabeth Marie Lange née Poduch, 85, Great Lakes

Edgardo B. Gutierrez, 74, Chicago

Michael Timothy Hand, 69, Lake Forest

Marlene Horan, 65, Grayslake

Wesley Campbell, 64, Roselle

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Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Home, 1407 N. Western Ave. in Lake Forest

William K. "Doc" Platt, 85, Lake Forest
Service May 7

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Wenban Funeral Home, 320 Vine Ave. in Lake Forest

Elizabeth Burr Konker, 97, Lake Forest

Alison Ann Haghighat, 46, Lake Forest

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Featured Obituary:

Dr. Bren Adair Ortega-Murphy died on April 26th, 2021 as afternoon sunlight filled the room. It was a warm and fitting moment of passage, as Bren never curtained a window. She adored open half shutters, which allowed for direct communion with light and plants, birds and wonder. Her husband was present to read a final children’s book and her two grown kids held her hand.

Bren was born November 27, 1949 in Beaumont, Texas and raised in Houston by her parents Edward Ortega Jr. and Esther Ortega née Larsen. She often reflected on her time at Mount Carmel Catholic School, where she shone as a debate champion and dedicated classmate. Her incredible work on the forensics team led to a scholarship at Northwestern University where she eventually completed her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees.

In June 2020, Bren retired from a cherished 36-year career at Loyola University Chicago, where she held a joint appointment in the School of Communication and Women Studies and Gender Studies. She taught numerous courses in both areas and in 1996 received the Sujack Award for teaching excellence. In her time at Loyola, she also served as the Chair of the Communication department, Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, Chair of Faculty Council and Director of Women’s Studies.

With a focus on rhetoric and ethics, Bren championed children’s literature, women religious, and service learning. A favorite assignment was to teach public speaking by requiring students to read children’s books out loud to the whole class. She cried openly whenever anyone read Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. For Bren, children’s literature had a power beyond measure, allowing the reader to delight, to cry, to discern and, finally, to act in the name of all that is good. She advocated equally for celebrating Catholic women religious or, as many know them, Nuns. In 2011, Bren directed A Question of Habit, a documentary narrated by Susan Sarandon. The film explored popular culture's fascination with all things "nun" and illuminated the history of women religious in the United States, from their life as battlefield medics in the Civil War, to their persistence as political activists fighting against capital punishment.

Outside of academia, Bren dedicated her life to friends and family through a constant stream of greeting cards, cookie packages and film suggestions. She was obsessed with cut flowers, lit candles, excellent butter, and supporting lonely-looking farmers at the Evanston Farmers Market. She could be found often at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, Steppenwolf Theatre, and the KidSeries at Lifeline Theatre. She was Catholic. She was a feminist. She was a wonder - and she had all the buttons, bumper stickers, and subscriptions to prove it.

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Send obituaries and images to your Patch to be included in future editions: Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake Bluff-Lake Forest, Niles-Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie, Winnetka-Glencoe-Northbrook, Wilmette-Kenilworth

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Last week: North Shore Death Notices: April 19 To April 25