Family remembers Bloomingdale mom who inspired 'Pay It Forward Day'

From planning elaborate birthday parties for her sons to craving travel and adventure with her husband, Summer White Lynch made sure to never waste a second of her life and love.

She was a positive person who would often say she was born to be a mother, her husband, Michael, said Thursday.

"(She was) wonderfully sweet," Michael Lynch said. "She was always putting other's needs ahead of hers. Just selfless to a fault."

The 41-year-old Bloomingdale woman died Monday at Central DuPage Hospital. She had been suffering from breast cancer that had spread to other parts of her body.

Her battle against the disease was the inspiration for Bloomingdale's "Pay It Forward Day" earlier this month, when people were encouraged to do good deeds for others. The campaign attracted international attention as well.

Jan White, Summer's mother, came up with the idea and said she is still receiving notifications of random acts of kindness. She is compiling some of those acts into a book.

Summer had attended Carmel High School in Indianapolis and years later received an associate degree from the College of DuPage.

Michael and Summer were married for 15 years, and had two children: Aiden, 11, and Dylan, 8.

Summer liked to spend time with friends and family, her husband said, and "she liked being goofy, making people laugh." She helped out at Cloverdale Elementary School as a classroom assistant and volunteer librarian.

Michael said he and Summer had a bucket list, and they managed to check off multiple goals before she died, including visiting Las Vegas, going on a Disney cruise and going on an extended national park tour.

The couple used to live in London and visited multiple European cities as well.

"She was always up for an adventure," Lynch said.

Summer also had a passion for reading and writing, and loved Harry Potter.

She had her own blog detailing her journey with cancer. In it, White said, Summer brought a writer's flair to her own reality.

"She had this way of telling something really tragic and making it funny," White said.

As a mother, Summer often put extra effort and creativity into her sons' birthday parties. Her husband said she once threw an Olympics-themed party, complete with games and medals for the young guests.

"Her birthday parties were just kind of legendary in terms of just the creativity and ... the fun," Lynch said.

A memorial gathering/visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 28, at Lutheran Church of the Master, 580 N. Kuhn Road, Carol Stream. A prayer service will start at 11:30 a.m. Lynch said Summer wished to be cremated.

In accordance with Summer's wishes for her loved ones to have a party instead of "moping around" and having a large funeral service, Lynch said they will be holding a party at Dave & Buster's.

"She wanted people to remember the good times, not the end," Lynch said.