Mary (Schwarz) Sinker, 75, of Glenview, IL, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, June 8, 2025. She was born August 30, 1949, in Seroe Colorado, Aruba, to Charles and Grace Schwarz, where her father worked at the Lago Refinery operated by Standard Oil of New Jersey. Growing up with her five sisters, Joan, Anne, Claire, Barb, and Laurie in Bungalow 340, Mary often spoke of swimming at Rogers Beach, walking the Pink Path, the boredom of being 'stuck' on a Caribbean island, and the fun of gathering with friends at the Esso Club.

Mary moved to snowy Wilmette, IL with her family in the winter of her junior year of high school. She went on to graduate from New Trier High School and later reconnected with Fred Sinker, whom she had first met in Aruba as a teenager, while he was stationed at the Lago Refinery as a member of the U.S. Navy.  Friendship blossomed into love, and Mary and Fred married in December 1967. After living in Evanston, IL for a few years, they spent seven years in England raising a young family before ultimately settling back in the USA.

Mary's professional career was inspired by the belief that play is a child's work, and that children learn best through hands-on exploration, imagination, and joy. Initially a pre-school teacher, Mary went on to become the Program Director at the first American Lekotek, an international program pioneered in Stockholm, Sweden, which provides a play library of adaptive toys that can meet the special needs of every child while helping children and families play and learn together.  While at Lekotek, Mary wrote the book Toys for Growing: A Guide to Toys That Develop Skills. Later, she teamed with Battat Toys, based in Montreal, Canada, where she consulted on toy design and the role toys played in a child's development and cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth.

Mary's deep commitment to experiential learning took full bloom when she became Director of Exhibits at the Kohl Children's Museum, then located in Wilmette, IL. She led the design and development of interactive, inclusive exhibits that reflected her understanding of how children learn best: by doing. After her time at Kohl, Mary became an independent consultant, lending her expertise to children's museums and early learning centers across the country, including projects in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, as well as Aruba, Ireland, and Israel. Bringing imagination to life, Mary helped shape spaces where children could discover, dream, and feel a true sense of belonging.

Mary leaves behind her children, Jenny and Dan, grandsons, Nikolas, Bryson, Roosevelt, and Oz, sisters, Claire, Barb, and Laurie, as well as a wide circle of nieces, nephews, and life-long friends around the world. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all whose lives she touched.

As per Mary's request, there will not be a formal funeral or service. In her final wishes, Mary wrote, "have some kind of informal family gathering with crazy water slides and swimming pools and squirt guns and good food and plenty of drink…have a good time, tell stories, laugh, and remember what's important." Mary's life will be celebrated with family later this month.

In lieu of flowers, purchase yourself a really good book and get carried away in the story; plant a flower or hang a hummingbird feeder and watch nature do its thing; buy a pair of shoes that you've been wanting and walk in a park or along a lake or ocean; take someone you love out to lunch or dinner and spend time making memories. Mary would be delighted that you were doing one of the many things that she loved most.