Photo courtesy of Finch Funeral Home - DeKalb
Thank you, Lisa, for naming Oaken Acres Wildlife Center as a beneficiary of your memorial donations. And thank you for your years of support for our patients. Here's a few baby Chipmunks we cared for that I hope will make you smile wherever you are. Kathy Stelford
Kathy Stelford
September 04, 2025 | Friend
It sounds like Lisa was a wonderfully thoughtful and knowledgeable person. I am sorry for your loss.
Deb Dimmick
August 24, 2025 | Crystal Lake, IL | Coworker
I knew Anu as Lisa. She was my patient for many years after she retired from Northern.It was a privilege to know her! What a lovely obituary ,sharing many facets of Lisa’s life that I was not aware of . She will be sorely missed by family and friends, but now is with her beloved nephew and parents! Peace and good to her family.
Karen Casciaro
August 23, 2025 | St. Charles, IL | Friend
I remember our time at eesti kool with Leili and Anu. Peace to you at this sad time.
Linda Oper
August 22, 2025 | Elgin | Friend
Anu L. Parts
Anu Liisi Parts, or Lisa Parts as she preferred, was born in occupied Germany in 1946 in Holzminden to August and Hilja Parts, refugees from Estonia, escaping the wrath of the Russians. In 1949 their little family arrived in America under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. With sponsorship from a Lutheran refugee group, they began their new life working on a dairy farm in Virginia. Manufacturing jobs were plentiful in the Chicago area and so they settled in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Lisa's first love was music and ballet. She was a regular Lyric Opera attendee. Her high school years as a thespian and piano player laid the groundwork for a life full of music. At Northern Illinois University she minored in music. This grew to a short career as a radio host: "Listen with Lisa".
She put her organizational skills as a secretary to good use in many departments at Northern Illinois University, culminating in being an administrative assistant to various deans. She served the university with great loyalty and dedication.
Lisa loved feeding and watching birds and chipmunks out her back door. She was grateful to God for His creatures. Lisa was an avid reader and a onetime Trekkie and Twilight Zone fan. She read widely across genres and kept up her Estonian language with her mother and Estonian newspapers.
She had a very generous soul. Kindness was practiced every day, toward everyone and every creature.
She is survived by her sisters Leili Parts and Linda Remus, and dear friend Loretta Horn. She is further survived by her niece Briana Tobin and her children, and also her cousin Anu Samarüütel. Her nephew Sean Tobin preceded her in death as well as her parents.
Internment will be private. Memorials in Lisa's memory may be made to https://tailshumanesociety.networkforgood.com/projects/176755-donate-today or https://www.oakenacres.org/donate
Arrangements were entrusted to: Finch Funeral Home 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL, 60115 (815)758-3841.
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