Muriel Donovan Fenzel

Muriel Donovan Fenzel

Oct. 5, 1935 - Oct. 1, 2025

Muriel (Donovan) Fenzel, 89, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on October 1, 2025, just days before her 90th birthday.

Born in Walla Walla, Washington, into a wheat-farming family, Muriel carried with her the lessons of work, faith, and resilience from her earliest days in the fields and orchards of her childhood. She never lost the grounding of her farm upbringing, and those roots shaped her strength and steadiness throughout her life.

Muriel trained as a nurse before completing her medical technology internship in San Francisco, where she began a lifelong devotion to the arts. She loved symphony concerts, opera, and musicals, and later became an avid supporter of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Her faith found expression in many ways, most memorably through her extraordinary collection of nativity scenes from around the world. Each piece, gathered over decades of travel, told a story of her journeys and her belief in the universality of hope and grace. Together with her husband, John, she traveled the world, returning with treasures, memories, and friendships that enriched her family's life.

Often extending a work trip into an adventure, they returned again and again to places that felt like home: Seaside, Oregon, the slopes of Colorado, with travels to 78 nations along the way. Wherever Muriel went, she brought something back: a program, a postcard, a small creche, and stories to share around the dinner table.

An avid reader, Muriel's shelves were filled with novels, history, and biographies. Books were her way of keeping company with great ideas, new worlds, and enduring stories, and she passed along that love of reading to her children and grandchildren.

Above all, Muriel was a steady center for her family. She encouraged her children to try everything at least once: from sports, music, and horseback riding so that no invitation in life would be declined for lack of confidence. She balanced kindness with backbone, favored doing over talking, and believed that family was number one.

At home, Muriel’s hands were rarely idle. She was a passionate gardener, tending award-winning landscapes that reflected her artistry and discipline. As a member of the Dundee Garden Club, she shared plants, advice, and fellowship, and her borders were a local point of pride.

Those who knew Muriel will remember her not only for her devotion to family, her faith, and her many interests, but also for her smile that lit any room she walked into. It was a reflection of the joy she found in life and the love she shared so freely with others.

Her reminder to those she loved was simple: Stand firm in what is right, be gentle whenever you can, and never forget that family comes before all else.

Muriel is survived by her children, John (Ciri), Mark (Zane), Michael (Lisa), Lisa (Mike), many grandchildren; her sisters, Dorothy Ann Ballew and Kathleen Timm, her brother, Dan ( Patsy) Donovan; her nieces, nephews, and countless friends who were blessed by her example.

In addition to her parents, Muriel was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 64 years, John Fenzel, Jr., on January 6, 2024; and a sister, Patty Lynn Donovan.

Family and friends will gather for her Funeral Mass on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 11:00 A.M. at St. Catherine of Siena Church in West Dundee, with Rev. John McNamara, Pastor, officiating. Burial will follow at the St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery in Hampshire.

Visitation will be held at Miller Funeral Home in West Dundee on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. and again on Wednesday morning, October 8, 2025, at St. Catherine of Siena Church in West Dundee from 10:00 a.m. until the time of her Funeral Mass at 11:00 A.M.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to Marmion Academy and Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes (formerly Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes (Formerly JDRF)) are appreciated.

To leave an online condolence, please visit www.millerfuneralhomedundee.com. For information, please call 847-426-3436.