Lynn C. Winikates, 83, wife of James Winikates and sister of Sharon Johnston, died on April 23, 2025 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. A resident of River Forest, Illinois,
A graduate of DePaul University, she was employed as a medical technologist upon graduation until relocating with her husband to Greenwich, Connecticut, where she became a stay-at-home mother with the arrival of their second child. After moving to River Forest, she was very active in several nonprofit organizations in the Oak Park and River Forest community, including the Women’s Auxiliary of West Suburban hospital, the Art Associates, Infant Welfare Society, and the Nineteenth Century Club, often serving in a leadership role. She was also very active socially, playing golf, mahjong, and bridge, where she made many friends. In fact, if someone needed a good friend at a time in their life, they wanted to know Lynn because she would be there. She was also a very avid traveler, visiting over 50 countries and many places in the United States, sometimes with her husband and sometimes without.
Lynn was the mother of Maribeth Cavanaugh, James Louis (Jimmy) Winikates (deceased), and David Winikates, and the grandmother of Maeve Cavanaugh, and Dylan, Logan, and Drew Winikates.
Visitation will be held at St. Luke Church, 7600 Lake St., in River Forest at 10 a.m. on May 2, followed by Mass at 11 a.m.