Young woman loved life, the outdoors and the arts

Family members describe Shannon Elizabeth Lebeter as a sensitive and artistic person, who wrote poetry and loved being outdoors.

The former Streamwood resident, most recently of Southhampton, Mass., died on Sunday. She was 22.

Her passing came six days after she collapsed from heart failure while shopping with friends. In March, Miss Lebeter had been diagnosed with arrhythmia or a disorder in her heart beat.

Family members suspect she had contracted the condition after suffering from pneumonia last winter.

"She always put everyone else first, even before her own condition," said her mother, Karen Poglajen of Streamwood.

The family still is dealing with the death of Miss Lebeter's older brother, Christopher, who died May 31.

Reportedly, on the day Miss Lebeter collapsed she had told her friend, Rachel Guyette, "I just want to hug Christopher one more time."

The siblings grew up in Bartlett before their mother remarried and they relocated to Streamwood.

Miss Lebeter played on the Canton Middle School basketball team, but during her years at Streamwood High School, she pursued the fine arts.

Family members are cherishing Miss Lebeter's many drawings, particularly of her favorite characters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"Ever since she was six years old, she loved the Ninja Turtles," her mother said.

Her poems dealt with the things she saw around her, including her love of nature. Since living in Southhampton, Miss Lebeter loved to sit out on the front porch and look out over the parklike setting in the Berkshire foothills.

Family members said they are taking comfort in the fact that her organs were donated to recipients in Illinois and Connecticut.

They said she would be buried at Lakewood Memorial Park in Elgin, where she will be placed next to her brother, Christopher.

Besides her mother, Miss Lebeter is survived by her stepfather, Rick Poglajen, and brother, Ricky Poglajen Jr. both of Streamwood, as well as her father, Ralph Lebeter of Wisconsin, and grandparents, Ronald and Beverly Bollinger of Bartlett, and Ralph and Patricia Lebeter of Roselle, and friends, Rachel, Alan and Patty Guyette, all of Southampton.

Visitation will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. today, before an 11:30 a.m. funeral service on Saturday, both at Countryside Funeral Home, 950 S. Bartlett Road in Bartlett.