Wonder Lake woman who died in fire Sunday remembered as a kind, nature-loving person

‘She was a fun spirit,’ daughter says

Growing up, Mollie Ryan remembers her mom, Vickie Arnolde, could make friends with anyone she met.

“She was the type of person that would make friends with the person who was checking out her groceries,” Ryan said Thursday. Ryan attributes this ability to the “kindness in her soul” Arnolde had for all kinds of people.

Arnolde, 64, was found dead Sunday morning, only a few days before her birthday on Dec. 31, inside a home in the 5700 block of East Wonder Lake Drive in Wonder Lake, after a fire blazed in the structure, according to a news release from McHenry County Coroner Michael R. Rein. The cause and manner of her death are unknown.

Arnolde is survived by her daughter, Mollie (Shawn) and their daughter Elaine; her son Derek (Joanne) and their son Max, and her elder brother, Terry Schilling, according to her obituary.

Arnolde’s kindness, her obituary said, wasn’t limited to humans.

“She loved her animal friends as deeply as her human friends,” the obituary said, noting the Wonder Lake woman saved many cats in her life and “fed every scrap to local wildlife.”

Along with Arnolde’s kindness, Ryan said she also remembers her mother’s love of gardening.

Arnolde was always sending her son and daughter bulbs and plants, and she had what Ryan described as a beautiful garden in the front of her house and a backyard filled with vegetables, house plants and strawberries.

When Ryan started her own garden, if she had questions, she would ask her mom.

Last winter, Arnolde broke her hip, so this spring she couldn’t garden as much as she usually did. But Ryan said her mother never let any challenge get her down. Even while injured, Arnolde still went out on her porch and tended to her houseplants.

“She was very resilient,” Ryan said. “She went through a lot of struggle in her life and she just kept going. And I admire that.”

Ryan, who grew up in Crystal Lake but now lives in Los Angeles, said she and her mother would go for walks in Moraine Hills whenever she came to town or along the bike path in McHenry.

After she got divorced, Arnolde lived in Lake in the Hills, where she grew up, for a little while before moving to Wonder Lake where, according to her obituary, Arnolde enjoyed living in Wonder Lake by the conservation area, where she could watch the blue heron and egret on the lake outside her window.

During her childhood, Ryan said, her parents would take her and her brother on a boat along the Fox River.

“When we were kids, we were always out doing fun things,” Ryan said. “My brother and I would spend a lot of time with my mom and her sister, when we were younger. ... We would go to museums, we would go to the park, all that kind of stuff.”

Arnolde loved nature so much, there was at least one time when she dove off a boat in an attempt to pick a lily pad, her obituary stated.

“She’d see something pretty, and she’d want to go look at it. She took notice of all those types of things,” Ryan said. “She was a fun spirit.”

Arnolde stayed home with Ryan and her brother for about half of Ryan’s childhood, she said, and was always cooking home-made meals. Some favorites, according to her obituary, were parmesan-crusted tilapia, key lime pie, cream puffs and homemade marinara.

“She was one of those moms that wanted you to be a kid, but wanted you to know that she was there for you if you needed her,” Ryan said.

As a grandmother, Arnolde was able to really connect with her grandchildren, taking a keen interest in whatever they were interested in.

Ryan said if she and her five-year-old daughter, Elaine, saw a movie, Arnolde would go watch it so she could talk to Elaine about it.

For Arnolde’s family, the last few days have been “absolutely horrendous,” Ryan said.

After hearing about Arnolde’s death, many people have reached out to her family.

“Everyone has said such kind of things,” Ryan said.

A GoFundMe was set up by Meghan Josue to help the family with Arnolde’s funeral expenses and “alleviate some of the hardship brought on by this painful loss.”

Ryan said this the “kind and thoughtful” fundraiser means a lot to her, especially as it will help fulfill her mom’s final wishes.

Because of COVID-19, Ryan said, she is going to do something privately with her brother for now, though Arnolde had been vocal about wanting a “celebration of life” instead of a sad funeral.

“Hopefully, we can do it in the spring, as long as it’s safe, and have a big celebration,” Ryan said. “We can play music. My mom loves music. And we can invite her friends, and people can share their stories ... so we definitely will do that when it’s possible.”