Barbara Jean Rydberg

Barbara Jean Rydberg passed away peacefully on the morning of December 7th, 2025 at the age of 97. She was born in Sandwich, Illinois on September 3rd, 1928, to her parents Vada (Pat) Marshall and Harold Ferguson Page. After living the first couple years of her life with her parents she moved to live with her grandfather, Charles (Charlie) Page. There, she discovered a lifelong love of the color purple, once even begging her grandfather to paint her room lilac. It was also in Sandwich she acquired her love of sweets, as her grandfather would often bring home pints of ice cream during the winter after finishing his shift at the dairy plant.

Eventually, Barbara moved to Chicago, into the Neighborhood of Lake View, where she lived with her father and stepmother, Margaret (Marge) Page. There, her family welcomed her half-brother Harold whom she loved deeply. In Lake View, she would enjoy getting to see the Cubs play for free on Ladies Day. Additionally, this is where her disdain for pot roast began as every Sunday the family sat down to eat it. Even on Christmas, she would joke.

In her teen years, after graduating from Lake View High School, she went on to attend classes at the University of Illinois Chicago, then located on Navy Pier. She had aspirations of becoming a doctor, but those dreams quickly shifted when she decided to volunteer to help returning soldiers from World War II sign up for college. It was that day that she met her husband, Kenneth Mark Rydberg. One of her favorite stories to tell was the one of their first date, when they made a bet on a Bears game and agreed that the loser would pay. Fittingly, the Bears ended up tying that day. They went on to elope on February 18th, 1950.

After marrying, Barbara and Ken moved into an apartment in South Shore, where they had their first two kids, Kenneth (Ken) Mark, and Kerry Lynn. The couple spent some time saving up to build a house on a plot of land gifted to them by Barbara's mother. They would spend weekends hammering away until they created a beautiful ranch-style house in Glenview, with a giant tree in the front lawn. It is here where they had their three other children: Kathy Lee, Kirk William, and Kevin Wayne.

Now most people would believe that building one house in a lifetime is enough, especially when it was not your career. Not Barbara, as her and Ken went to build two other houses. The second one being a beautiful a-frame on Wisconsin's Lake Camelot, and the third (even larger) being built right next to it. This is often where Barabara would spend her summers with her beloved kids and grandkids. This is also where she mastered her skills of cleaning fish, which was a skill she was most proud of.

Unfortunately, in May of 2010, Barbara lost her husband of 60 years as he was called to the Lord. And as devastating as it was, she took it in stride. It was also at this time where she decided to build a fourth house, but this time hire someone. By the time 2014 came around, she was able to complete her dream of moving back to Florida, this time full-time, and with the addition of her son, daughter-in-law (whom she called her daughter), and her twin granddaughters joining her. Most people would not dream to be helping raise teenagers in their 80s and 90s, but Barbara loved every second of it.

Barbara now has been called home to the Lord and will now rest easy in His arms. She held many titles in her life, but her favorites included Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, and Gram. Barbara is preceded in death by her husband Kenneth Rydberg, her brother Harold Page, and son Kerry Rydberg. She is survived by her children Ken (Cheryl) Rydberg, Kathy (Rich) Roetter, Kirk (Susie) Rydberg, and Kevin (Carol) Rydberg. Her grandchildren Mark (Sue) Rydberg, Paul (Bonnie) Rydberg, Matthew Rydberg, Eric (Jennifer) Rydberg, Rebecca Rydberg, Erin Rydberg, Hayley Rydberg, Kara Rydberg and Kiley Rydberg. And finally, her great-grandchildren Desiree, Chase, Westley, Maya, Miles, Maddie, Nathan, Connor, Selma, and Olivia.

There will be a Celebration of Life at her home church, Living Word Ministries, in Fort Myers on January 17th.