OHIO - Winafred A. “Winnie” Lovgren, 90, of Ohio passed away peacefully Jan. 27, 2021 at Perry Memorial Hospital, Princeton with her daughter at her side.

Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1 at the Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments in Princeton. Social distancing, masks and Illinois guidelines and tier mitigation will be followed. A private family service will follow at 1 p.m. with Pastor Gene Vincent officiating. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. at Elm Lawn Memorial Park, Princeton and all wishing to participate are invited.

Winafred was born March 11, 1930 in Princeton to Allan and Minnie (Hoffman) Spooner. She married Donald Lovgren on Nov. 24, 1955 at the Ohio United Methodist Church, Ohio and spent 43 years with him until his untimely passing in 1999.

Survivors include one daughter, Molly (Paul) Lovgren Watson of Princeton; two grandchildren, Melissa Bull and Evan Bull, both of Nashville, Tenn.; her dog, Toby; a sister-in-law, Jane Lovgren and brother-in-law, Ted Etheridge, both of Amboy; and nieces and nephews, Jeff (Mary) Lovgren, Mandy (Dean) Powers, Lori (Bob) Bumpus and Jill (Hank) Groth, all of Amboy, and Joey (Tracy) Lovgren of Stillman Valley.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two brothers-in-law, Carl Robert (Bob) Lovgren and Emmanuel (Butch) Goubeaux; two sisters-in-law, Marjorie Goubeaux and Carolyn Etheridge; one niece, Tracey Etheridge; and a great-nephew, Avery Lovgren.

Winafred was a lifetime member of the Ohio United Methodist Church up until its closing. She was a current member of First Lutheran Church of Ohio. She attended Ohio Community schools and graduated with the Class of 1948. She later went on to get her teaching degree, majoring in history at Western Illinois University and then received her Master’s degree in Education from Northern Illinois University. She was a lifelong educator, teaching generations of families for 51 years. Her career began teaching first grade in 1950 at Walnut Elementary School. In 1955, she taught at Lincoln School in Ottawa, and then spent her last 46 years teaching at Northbrook in Mendota. She retired from teaching in 2002. She took great pleasure in still being addressed by her former students as “Mrs. Lovgren.” Not only did she enjoy her time as a teacher, she was also on the Ohio High School Board of Education for 30 years. She was a member of the National Education Association, LaSalle County Retired Teachers Association and was a recipient of the Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year Award. She was also a lifetime member of the Bureau County Historical Society.

In 1965, she had her own homecoming when she moved back to the house where her father was born in 1880, which is located on her 4th generation family farm near Ohio. She farmed alongside her husband and enjoyed raising her daughter in the country. She worked beside them raising cattle, hogs and chickens and remained on the farm until recently. She was a remarkable woman with great wit and humor. Not only did she look forward to spending time with her grandkids, she was also a sports enthusiast, cheering on the University of Illinois, the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears. She enjoyed reading, staying current with local news, gardening and attending horse races. She was a fan of WGN Radio, Western movies, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud and Dr. Phil. Anyone who shared a meal with her would know that she always had room for dessert.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be directed to St. Jude Research Hospital or First Lutheran Church’s “Ohio School Buddy Bags Program.”

Online memorials may be directed to www.norbergfh.com.