Lynn M. Weis

Linda (Lynn) Weis. Lynn Weis, a life-long resident of the Aurora area, passed away at Rush University Medical Center last week after a nearly year-long battle with brain cancer. She was born on July 15, 1953. She worked at The (Aurora) Beacon-News for more than 36 years, almost all of that time in the Advertising Department. Lynn’s greatest avocations and loves involved animals. She was a professional dog trainer for many years with the Glenbard All Breed Obedience Club in Wheaton and for the Fox Valley Dog Training Club in St. Charles. She trained and competed with a variety of dog breeds in AKC obedience trials for more than 40 years. She was extremely proud of her expertise regarding apes and their behavior, developed over more than 20 years of volunteer work in the Tropic World area of the Chicago Zoological Society (Brookfield Zoo). Her experience was based on more than 12,000 hours of observational research at Brookfield Zoo. She received the 2010 TWIGA Award for Volunteer of the Year and helped organize the Orangutan Awareness and Ape Awareness programs. She also organized the first International Orangutan Workshop in 2007. From those experiences she had hundreds of wonderful friends whom she loved dearly, chief among them Dawn and Dave Parison of Plano, Ill., with whom she lived the last months of her life. She graduated from St. Mary’s School in Aurora; attended Madonna High School until it closed and graduated from its successor Rosary High School; and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, graduating first in her journalism school class, from Northern Illinois University. She was preceded in death by her father, Donald G. Weis, and her mother, Edith C. Weis, who were married in Wales, United Kingdom, during World War II. She is survived by a brother, Dr. John N. Weis, and sister-in-law, Dr. Shirley A. Weis, of Scottsdale, Arizona; a niece, Laura Graves and her husband, Jon, of Phoenix, Ariz.; a nephew, Dr. Robert Weis and his wife, Jennifer, of Granville, Ohio; a great nephew and great nieces, Thomas Weis, Marie Weis and Anne Catherine Weis of Ohio, and Isabella Graves and Sofia Graves of Phoenix. Funeral services will be held Friday, June 2, 2017 at 9:30 AM from THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY to Holy Angels Church at 10:00 AM. Fr. Michael Lavan will officiate with interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Visitation will be held Thursday, June 1, 2017 from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM with a Liturgical Wake Service at 6:30 PM at THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY, 220 North Lake Street, Aurora, IL 60506. (630) 631-5500. Please visit our interactive website at www.daleidenmortuary.com where you may sign the guest book or leave condolences for Lynn’s family.

Lynn M. Weis

July 15, 1953 - May 24, 2017