Amy Schaefer Love

Amy Marie Schaefer-Love, 53, of Champaign, passed away at home Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021.

Amy was born on May 19, 1968, in Champaign, Illinois, a daughter of Virginia Anne (Skelton) and Richard E. Schaefer.

Amy is survived by her mother and stepfather, Virginia Anne (Skelton) and Wayne Weber of Champaign; children, Nathaniel Love, now of Arizona, and Haley Love of Champaign; granddaughter, Hazel Grove of Champaign; siblings, Susanne Schaefer Wilson of Tucson, AZ, Rick Schaefer (Melissa) of Jackson, MI, and Sarah Weber Rogers (Colin) of Wilmette, IL. Also surviving are nieces and nephews, Jenna Rogers (Kevin), Brent Wilson, Brielle and Ethan Schaefer, Ryan, Connor, and Grant Rogers. She was preceded in death by her father; Richard E.; grandparents William G. Skelton and Virginia Skelton; grandparents Earl and Mary Schaefer; and niece Presley Anne Schaefer.

Amy went to middle school and high school in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Amy attended Eisenhower High School and graduated with the class of 1986. Amy attended St. Norbert’s College in De Pere, WI, close to Green Bay. From there, she moved to Champaign, IL where she continued her education at Parkland College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Influential to her move to Champaign was to be closer to her grandfather and grandmother Skelton. As she was raised by both her parents, her grandmother was instrumental to her upbringing as a child and for years to pass. Her mother and grandmother contributed greatly to help build her relationship with God. Her faith is shown through every part of her life and has passed it along to her two children and granddaughter. Along the way, her mother remarried Wayne who was very supportive and an asset to Amy’s life.

Amy had not few, but many interests throughout her life. One of the earliest interests she had was being a member of the Min-Aqua Bats Water Ski Show alongside her older siblings. She spent every summer with her grandparents at their summer cabin in Minocqua, Wisconsin. Not only did she have the talent for skiing, but she also played basketball and softball. More of her interests included cooking, gardening, dancing, and hanging out with family and friends. A huge part of her life is sports. Amy was a huge Green Bay Packers fan and loved her Chicago Cubbies. There were only rare occasions where she did not have one of her teams on her clothes.

Apart from her faith and relationship with God, the most important thing to Amy were her children Nathan and Haley. Amy was a single mom since her youngest was five years old. There was not a sporting event of her children that she was not at or had her mom attend for her. Her children were always her first priority no matter what hardships she endured. She never knew she could love anyone like her children until her first and only granddaughter Hazel was born. If you ask anyone, her favorite thing in her life was to be a mom, but especially a grandmother. Amy and Hazel will forever hold their fun times at the park, lake, and the many places they went together every week. Amy will always be remembered for being “the life of the party” and her sense of humor as her siblings say she inherited from her father. Her selflessness and compassion for helping others will continue to be remembered through her family, boyfriend, friends and everyone who knew her.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign, on Monday, Sept. 20. Funeral services will be held at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 405 W. Clark St., Champaign, on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family directly or Holy Cross Catholic Church.

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