“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” – Jamie Anderson
Lisa Anne Capan (nee Schofield), born on May 26, 1964, passed away on Monday, February 3, 2025, in Belleville, IL, after a courageous battle with cancer.
To know Lisa was to know love. Her kind heart was a guiding light for everyone around her. Her boisterous laughter could lift anyone’s spirits, and her bright smile was infectious. Always dressed to the nines, her dazzling personality from within shone outwardly through her spot-on fashion sense and accessorizing (even as a young girl), her blonde hair a testament to her bold and beautiful personality.
Lisa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but moved with her family to Erie at the young age of two and a half. There, she spent summers at Presque Isle State Park, the Erie Zoo, Camp Judson, or at home playing Barbies, visiting Dairy King, or killing it at croquet. She attended grade school at Villa Maria Elementary and Our Lady’s Christian, and graduated from Villa Maria Academy in 1982, leaving an indelible mark on the heather blue through her editorial role with the Eschaton yearbook.
She attended Duquesne University, where she met Richard Capan, future husband and father of her children. They moved to Belleville, Illinois, and had two beautiful children, Emily and Mitchell, who were the love of her life, her pride and joy, her everything. They created many memories together, apple picking at a local farm, playing pretend around the house, and taking day trips to St. Louis to visit the Arch, the art museum, the Cahokia Mounds, Forest Park, and much more.
Always seeking knowledge, Lisa graduated from Southwestern Illinois College in 2009, where she met her partner, Rick Spencer. They shared a love of music, antiquing, and cooking.
Lisa served in many roles throughout her career but spent the past sixteen years working at Allsup, helping the disabled apply for support with compassion and grace.
Lisa was a lover of art, including photography, film, sculptures, and paintings. She was a talented seamstress, making her own graduation dress in high school, many beautiful children’s outfits, and a personalized quilt made lovingly for her mother. She adored antiquing, collecting vintage cookbooks (or any book), kitchen items, and magazines. She was a killer at board games, a master in the kitchen, and a wonderful reader of poetry. An imaginative force, Lisa used her creativity to spark joy in the everyday lives of her family members and so many others.
Being a mother was Lisa’s favorite job, and her children can attest to how amazing she was at it. From crafts and sewing to gingerbread houses and dance parties, Lisa was the “fun” mom to her own children and so many others. Her Christmas traditions and beautifully made sundresses will live on through her children, grandchildren, and grandnieces/nephews for many generations to come. Even though they didn’t know her long, she showered her grandchildren Landon and Lily with so much love. They will grow up hearing so many special stories of their Nana.
Always a thoughtful daughter, her compassionate nature was ever-present, exemplified in her spontaneous acts of kindness and in her surprise gifts for her mother.
Her legacy will carry on forever, reminding us that we create our own joy in both ourselves and others. We choose to live a life of meaningful acts of love and service, and those acts of love will live on through each and every one of us.
Lisa was preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents, Dorothy Hopkins, Edward Hopkins, Ann Hopkins, and Elizabeth and Frederick Schofield.
She is survived by her partner Rick Spencer; her children Mitchell Capan and Emily (Capan) Clemson and husband Kyle, and grandchildren Landon and Lily Clemson; former husband Richard Capan; mother Maura (Hopkins) Schofield; brothers Paul (Patty Jo) Schofield, Steve (Jan) Schofield, and Aaron (Jodi) Schofield; sister Debbie (Bob) Dunlap; many nieces and nephews, Paul (Maureen) Schofield, Julia (Nathan) Sellers, Logan (Gretchen) Schofield, Kathleen Schofield, Adam (Carlyn) Schofield, Leanna (John) Haas, Benjamin, Adelaide and Lorelei Dunlap, Sydney and Halle Schofield; and many other family members including Ed and Roberta Hopkins, and Cheri and John Hall.
The family has chosen to celebrate Lisa’s life privately with loved ones in both Illinois and Pennsylvania, remembering her love of Illinois’ seasons and wild birds, Erie’s sandy beaches, and special moments with her mother at the Marina at Presque Isle. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance, https://lobularbreastcancer.org/.
Arrangements have been made through Schildknecht Funeral Home.
