Ingrid K. Jonsson

NAME Ingrid K. Jonsson, age 83, of St. Charles passed away peacefully Tuesday evening, February 13 at Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva. A strong fighter to the end, weak in body, but not in spirit, she succumbed to the last of three strokes, the first of which struck her in September of 2003.BORN: Born Ingrid Kirubei Alm in Dindigali, India, January 8, 1924, she was the third child of Sigfrid and Sigrid Alm. The Alm\\\’s were missionaries serving the communities and schools of the Tamil Nadu Province for the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church. EARLY YEARS :In 1929, she saw her family\\\’s native homeland of Sweden for the first time at the age of 5. Over the ensuing years, she attended school in both Gävle and Stockholm, completing her initial education in 1943. Always having a strong desire to work with children, she continued her education at the Frobelin Institute in Norrköping, Sweden for 2 years before traveling to England for one year in 1948. There she worked for a family with several children and continued her education in both English and child education services, completing some of her studies at Exeter University. Upon returning to Sweden, she began her career as a teacher for young children, primarily kindergarten, and this was her occupation for the next several years.MARRIAGE In addition to her love for children, she also had a strong interest in scouting. The experiences she enjoyed as a girl scout in her youth, led her to become an active scout leader in the Swedish scout organizations of KFUK-KFUM for many years. She attended numerous scout camps not only in Sweden, but throughout Europe as well. It was through scouting that first brought her to the United States. In 1956, she spent the summer at Camp Manito-Wish in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin as a camp counselor and then later immigrated to Chicago in 1959. Having met Lennart Jonsson of St. Charles, also a Swedish immigrant, during that time, she worked for the Noel Seeburg family in Lincoln Park for a year before marrying Lennart in April of 1960. While starting a family and raising her children, she worked nights at Delnor Hospital in St. Charles as a nurse’s assistant for several years. As her children grew up, she returned to school by taking courses at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. She completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Education and graduated in August of 1975. Although a full-time teaching position always eluded her, she happily worked in various capacities with the St. Charles School District for many years, both at the primary and junior-high level. Most notably as a librarian at Thompson Junior High School from 1979 until her retirement in 1989LIFE NOTES One of her greatest joy\\\’s in the United States were the many summers spent up at the family camp in Door County, Wisconsin. An avid lover of nature, she reveled in swimming, canoeing, nature walks, bird hikes and outdoor workshops. She shared these loves with her family and countless friends, enjoying all the cultural and social activities that the region provided.SURVIVORS Ingrid is survived by her beloved and devoted husband, Lennart, daughter Maria (Robert Cunningham) of Los Alamos, New Mexico, son Hans of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, sister Birgitta Sandblad of Uppsala, Sweden and sister Karin Holmquist of Gävle, Sweden. PRECEDED She now joins her parents and her brother Staffan who preceded her in death. MEMORIAL A memorial has been established in her name to benefit her favorite charities. Checks may be made to the "Ingrid Jonsson Memorial" and mailed in care of P.O. Box 66, Elburn, IL 60119. Tributes and memories may also be forwarded to the family at the same address or through www.conleycare.com.

A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held in April. Additional details will be available at a later date.

Internment will follow later this year in Sweden.