Christine Carter Groberg

Christine Carter Groberg, age 72, of Lake Villa, Illinois passed away Sunday, July 30th, 2023, surrounded by her family and a close friend at Aurora St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Christine was born November 26, 1950 in Glendale, California to Jack and Betty (Cruce) Carter. Her father's military career took the family across the United States along with Germany and France. She attended Sir Francis Drake High School in San Rafael, CA and graduated from Weber High School in Ogden, UT. While at Weber, Christine served as the Yearbook Editor and Sterling Scholar for English Arts and Literature, and was crowned Junior Prom Queen. She also attended Weber State College, San Francisco Community College and Shoreline Community College in Seattle.

Christine married her high school sweetheart Dennis Groberg in Novato, CA on July 18, 1970. They enjoyed golf, bowling and travel. They lived in San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Newtown, CT; and Wildwood, MO before moving to Illinois. Christine worked for Wells Fargo in San Francisco in banking and the Bank of California in Seattle in operations. A talented artist, Christine had her own folk craft arts business in Seattle, taught crafts classes in Newtown, and worked as a flower arrangement specialist in Wildwood.

Christine was a doer and an organizer. She was never one to sit back and wait for someone else to step forward. She was truly a people person, making friends everywhere.

Christine was a very involved mother for her three children. She served as room mother, held many positions with the school PTA, served as the Parent Advocates for Gifted Education liaison, and was the Freshman and Sophomore Advisory Co-Leader. She created an awards recognition program at the middle school. She helped create a traveling volleyball team program, and took her children all over the midwest for cross country and track races/meets. She was a Cub Scout den leader, volunteered at Boy Scout day camp, and helped with Brownies and Girl Scouts.

Christine coached kids’ teams in creative problem solving competitions, first with Odyssey of the Mind (OM) and then Destination Imagination (DI). Her teams won regional, state and global competitions. Christine was a part of the group that formed Destination Imagination and helped write the constitution. She served as a state Public Relations chair, Regional Director, Affiliate Training Director, and University Level Coordinator. She served on the Board of Directors and as Scholarship Committee Co-Chair for the Destination Imagination Support Committee. She was active in efforts to bring creative problem solving opportunities to students in northern Illinois and to Chicago Public Schools. Christine was awarded the Spirit of DI Award for Exceptional Service and named as a DI Guardian.

Christine was a breast cancer survivor and was active with various support groups. Through Team Survivor, she participated in Danskin Womens Triathlons and Dragon Boat racing on Lake Superior.

Recently Christine became interested in her family’s ancestry and was able to make many connections through DNA matching and genealogical research. She started a family Facebook group to stay connected and share other genealogy findings.

Christine was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents Phillip Carter, Louise Carter, Ethel Thompson and Roy Cruce.

Christine is survived by her spouse of 53 years, Dennis Groberg; children Marisa (Mike) Vaughn, James Groberg, John (Chris) Groberg; brothers Jack (Tina) Carter Jr, Michael (Lynn) Carter, Patrick Carter; uncle Gary (Marlys) Carter; beloved granddaughters Katherine Vaughn and Rebecca Vaughn; as well as other family and many friends.

A celebration of Christine's life will be held at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, August 9th, 2023 at Marsh Funeral Home, 305 North Cemetery Road, Gurnee, Illinois 60031. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 3:00 to 6:00 PM on Wednesday, August 9th, 2023.

Christine's service will be available to livestream. Please click "join livestream" below under "Funeral Service".