Winifred M. Pump, 83, a member of a farming family, died Thursday, Feb. 15, in Hearthstone Manor in Woodstock. Her family has farmed in northern Illinois since 1885. They raised vegetables and were among the first sod growers in the United States, said her son, Richard. In 1926, the family moved their farm from what is now Lincolnwood to Bensenville. At Bensenville High School, now Fenton High School, Mrs. Pump became a star forward on a basketball team and also won many speaking awards. “She worked hard in her day,” said her son, noting that his mother frequently would rise at 4 a.m. to pick cabbage, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. She also helped deliver produce to farm stands and sod to cemeteries and landscapers on flatbed trucks. She married John Pump in 1947. They became partners in a sod farming business, also in Bensenville, for which Mrs. Pump worked as a secretary and bookkeeper. In 1950, their farm was condemned for the expansion of O’Hare Field and was moved to what is now Hanover Park. In 1961, the farm once again moved, this time to expand in Huntley. Mrs. Pump retired in 1987. “She was warmhearted and charitable,” her son said. “If someone was down and out, she was there to help them.” Besides her husband and son, Mrs. Pump is survived by a grandson. Services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in Trinity Lutheran Church, 11008 N. Church St., Huntley.
