Maria Eleanor Seibert

Maria Eleanor Seibert, age 87, of Elizabeth, Illinois, formerly of Chicago, Illinois, died peacefully at home on October 13, 2026, with her daughters, Laura and Jenny, at her side.

Maria was born to William Berger and Eugenie (Fauvelle) Berger at Grant Hospital in Chicago on January 27, 1939. She grew up in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood at the corner of Halsted and Dickens and graduated from Robert A. Waller High School. She then attended night school to learn German. On December 1, 1973, Maria married Peter William Seibert at St. James Lutheran Church in Chicago. They celebrated 42 years of marriage.

In addition to raising her daughters, Maria worked part time as a bookkeeper, most notably for North Star Bakery and Zenith in Chicago. After her girls grew up, she worked at Fannie May Candies in Lincolnwood, Illinois.

Maria was proud of her Alsatian and German heritage. She traveled extensively across Europe with her mother and French and German aunts, uncles, and cousins, and took them on tours throughout the United States to national parks and beyond. She shared her love of travel with her daughters and continued this tradition with them in the United States and abroad.

Maria was an excellent cook, always seeking to emulate her mother’s Alsatian cuisine. She loved spending time with her horse, Blaze; tending to the flowers in her many gardens; sewing, especially cross-stitch; reading; watching British mysteries; and gazing across the farmland surrounding her home. Her grandchildren, who called her “Oma,” visited her every day and were her greatest joy.

Maria will be dearly missed by her daughters, Jennifer (Ryan) Laufter of Chicago and Laura (Robert) Cobine of Elizabeth; her grandchildren, Kathryn, Nicholas, and Samuel; her nieces and nephews; and her cousins, Clémence Scheiber of Kilstett, France, and Werner Schneider of Offenburg, Germany. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Peter; and two brothers, Robert (Laverne) Barthelme and William (Jeanette) Berger II.

A visitation and service will be held on October 26, 2026, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, in Lena, Illinois. Burial will take place at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Elizabeth.

A special thank-you is extended to the staff at Mercy Health Hospice in Freeport, Illinois, especially Janine, Debbie Mae, and Kris, for their tender in- home care and support.