Former Miss Lake in the Hills dies after illness

Cyndi Caputo, a former Lake in the Hills beauty queen, was blessed with much more than good looks.

"Her personality was one of a kind," her mother, Robbie Baumgartner, said Friday. "She always had a smile on her face and went out of her way to help others."

Caputo, 37, died Wednesday after a long illness.

Born in Zion, Caputo was the youngest of three children.

"Her dad was a minister with the Church of God," Baumgartner said. "We started a church in Algonquin and then moved to Carpentersville and eventually Lake in the Hills.

While a student at Crystal Lake South High School, Caputo "blossomed," her mother said.

"She had had a few awkward years before that but at 15 just became this stunning beauty."

A friend encouraged her to enter the Miss Lake in the Hills beauty pageant in 1986. Caputo took the crown.

After graduating from high school, Caputo worked her way through Judson College, graduating with a degree in business and earning a job as a commercial loan officer at the Union Bank in Elgin. Later, she owned and operated CK Morgan Real Estate Consultant.

Caputo was an active member of the Assembly of God Church in Elgin and made many mission trips overseas. Her son, Jesse Quindel, was born in 1995. "He was the love of her life," Baumgartner said.

In addition to her son and mother, survivors include her father, Neil Kramer; three brothers, Timothy Kramer of Gleason, Wis., David Kramer of Wonder Lake, and Rob Baumgartner Jr. of Roscoe; and a sister, Heidi Lara of Crystal Lake.

Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St. (Route 31), Elgin.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Christ Community Church, 37W100 Bolcum Road, St. Charles.

Burial will follow at Prairie Cemetery in St. Charles.

Memorials may be made for a future education fund for Jesse.

For more information, call (847) 741-8800.