Lori J. Gonzalez

Lori Jean Gonzalez of Loves Park, Illinois passed away on December 26th, 2025, at the age of 65. She was born on April 9th, 1960, in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin to her two parents Olaf and Arlette (Lunde) Vale along with two amazing older sisters. It was here in Fond Du Lac where she started her academic journey at a community college eventually transferring her credits and graduating from UW Madison with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1982. She used that degree to work at many different financial institutions with the last one being Rock Walworth County Headstart Program. Lori didn't just work at these places - she also found ways to touch the hearts of the people that she worked with. It was on her career journey where she ended up moving to the Chicagoland area and eventually meeting her husband Jose through mutual friends at a bowling league. Lori had many different passions and interests in her life including garage/estate sales where she loved looking for good deals especially on elephants which was her favorite thing to collect. She also enjoyed going to weekend bingo at the VFW with her husband and son. She loved to gamble but hated losing. Lori also loved joining Betty and Mike on paranormal adventures in the Midwest. Most importantly she loved the stars above such as watching for shooting stars and meteors in the backyard while laying on the picnic table that her father Olaf built. Lori loved to travel by road-trip, as she loved to stop and see sites along the way. Her favorite road-trip to go on was to her father-in-law’s (Gonzo and Connie) property down in Arkansas, which became her happy place. Her most memorable time down there was when she was able to watch the total eclipse in April of 2024 basically on her birthday.

She is proceeded in her death by her parents Olaf and Arlette (Lunde) Vale as well as her sister Kristi Moerke. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Jose “Joe” Gonzalez; her son JJ; her sister Ann (Paul) Tabat; brother-in-Law Steve Moerke; Mother-in-Law Jane Riess, Father-in-Law Jose (Connie) Gonzalez; Jose’s siblings, Jesse (Karen) Gonzalez, Jessica (Tom) McGinnis, Betty (Mike) Havranek, Tom (April) White, and Melissa (Ron) Hargrove; many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the nurses of the west 5 ICU at Saint Mary's Hospital in Madison for treating her with compassion and the utmost care. Friends and family are invited to celebrate Lori’s life on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Sunset Funeral Home from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, consider donating in her honor to Pink Heals Sauk Valley Chapter or to the Breast Cancer Foundation.