Elizabeth Babcock

Elizabeth Babcock (Burlingham), 94, died Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, at her home in Bull Valley.

She was born April 29, 1918.

She grew up on Chicago’s north shore and attended New Trier High School. She graduated from Vassar College in 1940 with a bachelor of arts in theater. She worked for a short time in advertising in New York before returning to Chicago where  she worked writing scripts for radio plays for WLS. She married Richard Babcock in 1943 and moved with her family to Bull Valley in 1949.

She owned property called Spring Hollow, which her father had purchased during the Great Depression. Her family owned a menagerie of animals, and in 1977 she and her husband granted a conservation easement on the property. Spring Hollow became part of the Boone Creek Fen Nature Preserve.

She and her husband were active in preserving natural areas in the community. She also served on the local school board, supported the library, helped revive the Woodstock Opera House in the early 1960s and contributed to the founding of the Creative Living Series.

She was known for her warmth, wisdom and gentle wit.

Survivors include a brother, Vaughn, California; three daughters, Becky Walkington, Bull Valley, Elizabeth White and Catherine Magruder, California; three sons, Richard Jr., Chicago, David, California, and John, Crystal Lake; 16 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 1993. Funeral services will be held privately.

Memorials can be sent to the Land Conservancy of McHenry County, P.O. Box 352, Woodstock, IL 60098.