Kristin Wildman Brennan

Kristin Wildman Brennan passed away, surrounded by love and family, on June 4th 2025 at Balmoral Rehabilitation Center in Lake Forest, Illinois. She was 84 years old. Kristin was the beloved wife of the late John E. Brennan (Popo), her second chance at love and the love of a lifetime. She outlived her son Matthew and is survived by her six children, their spouses, 16 grandchildren, and a great grandchild on the way. She was cared for in life and in death by her wonderful caregiver Jona. Kristin was born on November 7, 1940 and grew up on her parent’s farm in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. She is predeceased by her parents Charles and Patricia Wildman, her brother Fred (Jean) Wildman and is survived by her brother Chip (Judy) Wildman as well as six nieces and nephews. Kristin attended Newton College of the Sacred Heart outside Boston and achieved her Masters degree in Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. After earning her Master’s, Kristin became a reading teacher, sharing her passion for learning with students from Our Lady of Lourdes outside Philadelphia and, when the family moved to Lake Forest, she taught at various schools in Lake County including in North Chicago, Glenview, and at Glenbrook South High School, from where she retired in 1990. Her love of learning and teaching extended far beyond her classroom. She was a voracious reader, never without a good book, and passed that love to her children and grandchildren. Kristin, known to her grandchildren as Gram, was always eager to try new things and learned to tap dance, play poker, even taking up golf at the age of 50 and playing with friends and family into her 80s. Her independent and adventurous spirit found her biking cross country with girlfriends, criss-crossing the globe with John or her kids–from Boston to Brazil, Singapore to Seattle. She loved to be out in nature and you could often find her weeding her garden or sharing her cucumbers with neighbors. Walking with Kristin was a given and a joy for all. Over the years, you could find her on her beloved Deerpath Golf Course or hiking with her kids everywhere from the woodsy pines of New Hampshire to the storied Appalachian Trail, even panning for gold in Alaska. Be it the tennis court, the back nine, or the card table, Kristin was a fierce competitor–never letting even her grandchildren win a game that they hadn’t earned. She was incredibly playful: organizing suitcase races when her kids were small, gathering oranges from houses along the golf course in Palm Desert, playing in the river with the grandkids at the Brennan farm in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, or dancing with her husband or daughters anywhere there was floor space. She loved a good joke, a good story, and a good back scratch equally. She snuggled with her kids in her bed, talking for as long as you needed (or as long as she could stay awake). Gram made every grandchild feel seen and special. Joyfully feeding the ducks with them, jumping in puddles, floating in the pool, cheering them on in sports, taking them to a museum or show, or sending them newspaper clippings on topics she thought they’d enjoy, Gram was the center of our universe. Kristin will be deeply missed by her children Christopher Bauder (Mary), Beth (Eric Margarida), Gwen (Bill Travelstead), Diane (Peter Grumhaus), Laurie Bauder, Ally (Pat Donnelly) as well as her grandchildren Peter, Austin, Katie, Billy, Kristin, Sara, Lindsay, Luke, Tommy, Summer, Megan, Owen, Kai, Torrey, Izzie, and Lucy. A Memorial Mass will be held in Kristin’s honor on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 10am at St. Patrick’s Church, 991 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. A celebration of her life will immediately follow at Gorton Community Center at 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest. Interment will be private. For information – Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest, 847-234-9649 or www.RTfunerals.com.

Kristin Wildman Brennan

November 7, 1940 - June 4, 2025