Monique Andrea Wallen

Monique Andrea Wallen of Crystal Lake, born June 11, 1975, passed away peacefully on January 5, 2023.

Monique is survived and mourned by her husband of 20 years Eric and their three beautiful children: Ian, Mykaela, and Isaac; Monique’s parents Frank and Eileen Teixeira; Siblings Kevin, John, Cassandra & Derrick, Victoria & Jason, Juliette & Kevin, and Leandra & Kerry; Niece & Nephews Kevin, Shelley, Alexandra, Brandon, Jeremy, Katie, Aiden, Sammy, Evan and Paloma; In-Laws Thomas & Karen Wallen, Mark & Laura, Nate & Kristy, Adam & Ashley; Niece and Nephews Lawrence, Landon, Oliva, Owen, Collette, Scarlett, and Everett.

Predeceased by her father Enrique Belmonte, grandfather Maurice Tetreault, Uncle Maurice (Morris) Tetreault, sister-in-law Jeanne Martin, and brother-in-law Thomas Jacob Wallen.

Monique was born in San Jose, Costa Rica and lived there until the age of 7. Their family moved to Miami, Maine, eventually settling in Rhode Island where Monique remained through high school. Monique attended the University of North Florida. Following school Monique move to the Chicago area, where she met her future husband.

Monique was self-employed as home and graphic designer and held various marketing leadership positions. Monique ran an Esty gift item business which consumed her entrepreneurial and creative energies. Monique thrived on customer feedback, ultimately adopting the slogan of ‘Delivering Wow’ (Monique’s love language was Words of Affirmation).

Monique lived every day in the present, to its fullest, with an unapologetic, passion for life. Habitually finding the positive in any situation, and had a blatant disregard for what stood in her way. This enabled her to deeply enjoy seemingly simple moments and magnify them into experiences that aligned with how she wanted her life.  And when those moments occurred, it was a pleasure to be alongside.

Monique could make any situation competitive for the sheer fun of it. That could be the license plate games that spanned 3-4 years (she kept a tally in the glove box), intense family holiday monopoly & bingo (with kids in tears begging to go to bed), tallying partial credits for correct answers in Jeopardy, finding shark teeth, the list goes on…

Other noteworthy Monique passions include:

• Home design and renovation (Monique tiled a floor the week before Ian was born)
• Graphic design
• Great food and dining (Monique commonly out ate the family when the food was fantastic)
• Gardening (a few curse words, but she loved being outside)
• Stylish dress/fashionista
• Cooking (“double the garlic” was a cooking tip Monique passed on to the kids)
• Dancing
• Playing cards and a little gambling (Monique and Mykaela played gin for hours during her treatments and recovery)
• Ocean beach and sun
• Boating, sailing
• Fishing (Monique caught the largest fish ever caught on the family boat – 44”, 17lb northern pike)
• Music and singing (on our 15 yr anniversary, holding hands, Monique cried when Fado music was playing live)
• Math-less physics
• Antiquing and decorating (known for redecorating rooms during parties when guests were not around)
• New business ideas
• Made up games like ‘Weird or Too Weird?’ the social barometer game

Monique lived bravely in the face of adversity.  To that, she bravely fought cancer three times.  The first, she was observed skipping into treatment with a mohawk and a smile (not kidding).  The second, while displaced during the pandemic and the height of lockdown, she routinely woke up early to watch the sunrise and proclaimed ‘everything was perfect’ as she absorbed the winter sun.  In the last month’s, Monique assessed her options, how she wanted to be remembered in this world and by family; and her decision was made to go.  A decisive and powerful confidence she imparts to her children.

Furthermore, let it be known to all law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the alleged three reckless driving tickets in the span of 3 hours across a ~200-mile stretch of I-95, and subsequent suspension of Monique’s license in the Commonwealth, may be stood down.

In lieu of flowers, please consider the needs of the family at this time by donating to the GoFundMe campaign.

Memorial visitation will be Wednesday, January 11, 2023 from 3 PM until 8 PM at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. (Rte. 176), Crystal Lake, IL 60014. A Celebration of Monique’s life will be held privately by her family.