Maureen Zipkin left us suddenly on September 21 while recuperating from a fall. She lived in her beloved Lincoln Park home until shortly before she passed. She will be sorely missed.

Along with her twin brother Michael, she was born in Ashland, Wisconsin to James and Lucretia Gallagher. Her formative years were spent in Minneapolis as the family grew to include five children. With brief stops in Oregon and Washington, the family ultimately settled down in Louisville, where Maureen attended high school at Sacred Heart Academy.

Maureen received a B.S. degree in Nursing from St. Xavier College in Chicago, after which she worked as a pediatric nurse at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park. Along with other Chicago-area healthcare professionals, in 1980 Maureen volunteered to work a three-month stint at a border refugee camp in Thailand, providing medical treatment to Cambodians fleeing the violence in their country. Back in Chicago, Maureen continued her lifelong habit of walking to work in every kind of Chicago weather. Eventually, after also working at hospitals in Boston and Houston, Maureen received an M.S. in Healthcare Administration from Northwestern University and ended her career in the business office of what is now the Lurie Children’s Hospital. She shared a tradition with her nursing friends of preparing a yearly Thanksgiving dinner, for which Maureen became a specialist in mashed potatoes.

Ballet was her passion and she filled her home with ballet books, DVDs and memorabilia. A season ticket holder of the Joffrey Ballet, she also routinely attended performances by the New York City Ballet. She loved everything Parisien, especially French macarons. She liked coffee, Audrey Hepburn, muffins from the local farmers market, postcards from Europe, and the chicken salad sandwich from Verzenay. Although short of stature, she insisted on carrying huge handbags. She had a quiet demeanor and was fiercely independent.

Maureen is survived by her siblings Michael (Kathleen Cooke), Tim (Fariba Danesh), Mary and John (Elizabeth). She was preceded in death by her parents.

She will be buried at Graceland Cemetery in a private ceremony. To honor her memory, please consider a donation to the Joffrey Ballet.