Karen Sciortino

Karen Sue Sciortino, 52, of Belvidere, IL passed away on Monday, January 17, 2022, after a lengthy illness. She was surrounded by the love of family. Karen grew up in Carol Stream, IL where she graduated from Glenbard North High School. She attended Illinois State University where she earned a BA in Sociology and met many of the life-long friends who became her second family. She spent many years working in marketing before becoming ill. After getting married, she became a devoted mother to her four children. Here are some things they would like you to know about their mom. She was an awesome mom! She loved her music and would sit in her rocking chair and sing in the middle of the night. She was always there for us (her kids/family) even when she was in the hospital. She liked to go to the beach and soak up the sun. She loved to travel and got to go to China and other places. She always brought back gifts for us. When she would wake us up for school, she would sing good morning songs. She loved candy. We would have to yell at her for eating all of our Halloween candy. When it was someone’s birthday, she would sing and do the birthday dance and embarrass you (even in restaurants). Every Christmas or Easter, we all had to sit on the stairs and she would ask us what the purpose of the day was.Then, she would slowly back up and take a picture. She called us out on our lies (especially if we said our school work was done). When we had a parent/teacher conference, she was proud and congratulated us for what we did and got mad for the things we didn’t. She loved to snuggle with us and let us hold her hand while she was driving. She loved spending “girl time” with Shawntay, taking road trips with her family, and motorcycle rides with dad. She sang, “You Are My Sunshine” to us all the time. No matter how difficult life got, Karen lived by one of her adopted mottos, “Life is Good” and had dozens of their t-shirts to remind those around her. She was an optimist who found and celebrated the best that life and people had to offer. She listened to and supported those she cared about. Her joyful spirit could make the most mundane events an occasion to laugh. Karen was adventurous and in her younger years, was always on the lookout for a last minute bargain airfare so she could invite friends to go on the adventure with her. She was passionate about causes she believed in and directed a fun run in Belvidere with proceeds going to the Walter Payton Cancer Research Fund.The years made Karen a battle-scarred warrior, who had fought multiple cancers (#cancersucks), liver disease, a stroke, and more. We are comforted that after fighting the good fight she is now at peace and probably enjoying Nachos Bell Grande from Taco Bell, a 7-11 Slurpee, a Diet Coke, and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Tonight Dough ice cream in heaven. With another of her mottos being “Dessert First,” we know that the Ben and Jerry’s is already gone. We are going to miss so many things about Karen: her laughter, happy dance, bargain hunting, bags of crap, birthday dance, paddle boat races, bonfires, singing and dancing with one of the peanut vendors outside Wrigley Field, and so much more. Karen picked up a final motto later in her life from something a nurse wrote on the white board in one of her many hospital rooms. It was, “I can do hard things.” Well Karen, we are going to have to use that motto to live without you in our daily lives. Luckily, our invisible strings of love will always keep us connected. She is survived by her husband, Peter; four children: Shawntay, PJ, Tony, and Logan; mother, Margaret Landherr; siblings, Cindy (Dave) Chestnut, Terri (Roger Kohls) Landherr, Steve Landherr, and Vicki (Jen) Landherr; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephew, godchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, and an abundance of friends who are family. Preceding her in death were her father, Lester Landherr, her brother-in-law, Bob McKellar, and her niece, Kennedy Landherr. There will be a celebration of Karen’s life on July 3, 2022 at 3:00 P.M. and will be held at her home. Burgers and hotdogs will be served. As Karen liked, desserts will be served first around 3:30 P.M. Please rsvp to Pete at 630-740-6477. Family and friends are welcome. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the family.