Barbara M. Upton, 48, a social worker who helped troubled teens and encouraged people to search for fulfilling lives and careers, died of melanoma Friday, Sept. 14, in Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge.
After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1975, Ms. Upton, of Oak Park, worked as a mental health therapist for Riveredge Hospital in Forest Park.
She completed a graduate degree in social work from the University of Illinois, then began working at Madden Mental Health Center.
An outspoken champion of troubled children and adolescents, she developed a program called Parenting Teens Today to help parents “learn how to care for kids, not drive them away,” said her sister Susan Douglass.
Ms. Upton continued in social work for 14 years with the DuPage County Health Department before launching a career-consulting business, Living by Design, in 1996.
“She wanted to help people find a career they enjoyed, rather than just grinding away at an unfulfilling job,” her sister said.
An avid bicyclist, Ms. Upton often rode 100 miles at a time. In 1999 she walked from the Wisconsin state line to Grant Park to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.
She loved adventure travel, including trekking in New Zealand and sleeping in tree houses in Thailand.
“At least 17 people called her `best friend,'” her sisters said.
Other survivors include her mother and stepfather, Sunny and Ron Hepner, and another sister, Jody Jones.
Services have been held.
