Mary Sturm Obituary

Our mom, Mary Julia Rizzoli Sturm, was born June 9, 1927, in the same bedroom her mother was born in thirty years earlier in Edwardsville, Illinois. She died on March 25, 2025, in the home she and her husband, Wally, built in 1964.
Mary was a member of the Junior High School rope jumping team. During high school she played snare drum in the marching band and performed at local war bond rallies to help defray the costs of World War II.
Mary became a traveler at an early age. Her family used the rail passes her father received as an employee of the Central and Eastern Illinois Railroad. They traveled by train from Edwardsville to the 1932 Chicago World's Fair, the 1940 New York World's Fair, to Washington D.C., and to visit family in Kansas and Florida.
Her parents encouraged her to attend college following graduation from Edwardsville High School in 1945. Although accepted to M.I.T., she chose the University of Illinois.
At U of I, she was elected to Student Senate, attended over 100 dances and collected the cards signed by her dates, and graduated with a B.S. in bacteriology in February 1949.
On January 29, 1949, she married Wally Sturm whom she met on a blind date at an Illini basketball game. We are forever grateful to Ted and Jean (Young) Arenberg who arranged that date. Mom followed Illini sports for the rest of her life.
In 1952, Mary and Wally moved to Rockford to accept the offer of his uncle, Frank O.J. Lindstrom, to join his travel agency. They became the co-owners of Lindstrom Travel when they purchased it in 1966.
During their six-decade career, they visited 150+ countries including: Cuba in the 1950s before Castro; the People's Republic of China in 1979 when it opened to tourists; and an around-the-world cruise in 2009-2011.
In 1953 they flew to Paris and London on a TWA Constellation propeller plane by way of New York, Newfoundland, and Ireland. The trip took 20 hours. Years later they flew on the Concorde from New York to Europe in just four hours.
OSF surgeons looked forward to the coffee she made as a volunteer in the surgical waiting room on Fridays. She also volunteered as a Eucharistic Minister at Holy Family Parish.
We believe her habit of Red Wine at Five made her heart strong enough to live a long and amazing life.
Mom and Dad were a team - in marriage, in the travel business, and in parenting.
Predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Wally; parents, Leo and Florence (Glass) Rizzoli; brother John Rizzoli.
Survived by children: Margaret (Tim) Larson, Richard (Linda Sheridan) Sturm, John (Liz) Sturm, and Charlie Sturm; grandchildren Ben (Sarah Widder) Larson, Sam Larson, Karl Sturm, Mary (Josue) Sanchez, Jacob Sturm, Keenan Sturm and Aaron Fishe; great grandson Javier Sanchez; sister-in-law Jeanne Rizzoli; several nieces and nephews who admired her graciousness, sense of style and matter-of-fact approach to life and her good friend Marilyn Dougherty.
We are extremely grateful for the members of Team Mary who provided compassionate care while respecting her dignity: Teresa, Sheneitha, and Bonnie, plus OSF Hospice providers Wendy, Lisa, and Christina.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday April 12, 2025, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 4401 Highcrest Rd Rockford IL. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:45 AM, prior to the service. Entombment in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Rockford Park District Foundation will be used to plant a tree in her honor next to the one planted for Wally in Aldeen Park. To share a memory or condolence please visit olsonfh.com