In more than 30 years in the McHenry County Coroner’s office, Marlene Lantz spent a good deal of her career with grieving families. Now hers is the family in mourning.
Lantz, the elected county coroner for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2012, died Oct. 5 in a hospital in Lafayette, Ind., near where she’d moved after leaving office. She was 70.
She was a fixture in McHenry County politics and government for decades, and her family said she brought compassion to her work and a determination to uncover the truth.
“The investigative aspect of Marlene’s job was her most favorite as she worked tirelessly to uncover how deaths occurred and to find ways to prevent such tragedies in the future,” according to an obituary authored by her family.
But supporters said Lantz was deeply scarred by the legal ordeal she went through when, more than two years after she retired, she found herself the target of criminal charges of forgery and official misconduct.
Authorities alleged that Lantz should be held criminally liable for failing to properly dispose of the remains of two babies found in the morgue after she left office, one dating back to 1992.
She was eventually cleared of all the charges after an expensive, nearly two-year legal fight, and friends said the experience took a heavy toll on her outlook and possibly her health. After the final charge was dropped about 10 months ago, she angrily accused prosecutors of going after her for political payback.
In remembering her, Lantz’s family has focused on her accomplishments while in office.
Her brother Al Wilson of Woodstock described her as outspoken,” “passionate” and “driven.”
He said she spent a good deal of her time promoting safety. She taught local students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and conducted mock prom accident enactments, according to her obituary.
She also was sympathetic with grieving families, in some cases maintaining contact with them for years, her brother said.
“She loved her job, but it also was very hard on her,” Wilson said. “There is a very dark side to do that (job), as long as she did. It was tough, but a lot of people … absolutely adored her.”
Kurt Begalka, McHenry County Historical Society and Museum administrator, said he knew Lantz for more than 30 years.
She was a regular volunteer, helping out with their historic Halloween program and performing in programs.
“She had a really, really good sense of humor, just a really interesting person, and she was no-nonsense, plain-speaking, to the point,” Begalka said.
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“She had a love of history, particularly local history,” he said. “People who knew her (as coroner) knew how professional she was and she really worked hard at it.”
Lantz attended St. Mary Catholic School in Woodstock and graduated from Marian Central Catholic High School in 1965, according to her obituary. She attended Elgin Community College and a mortuary science school in Milwaukee.
She worked for Sherman and St. Joseph hospitals in Elgin and Wait-Ross-Allanson funeral home in Algonquin until taking on the role of chief deputy coroner in 1980. She became coroner in 1988.
In addition to her brother, Lantz is survived by her mother, Mariette Wilson, and three sisters: Judith Kettmann, Karen Wilson and Linda White.
According to her family, Lantz’s remains were donated to the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
A memorial service is planned for noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Schneider Leucht Merwin & Cooney Funeral Home, 1211 N. Seminary, Woodstock.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
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