Asela Minnick

Asela Minnick, 71, of Shabbona, IL, passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in Dekalb, IL after a short battle with colon cancer.

She was born in Manzanillo, Cuba on December 6th, 1954. Her dad, Librado, was a shoemaker and owned a factory in Cuba. She came to the United States with her parents, Librado and Bohemia Reina, when she was a teenager and lived in Florida for quite a while before they decided to relocate to the Chicago area.

She met her husband, Charles Minnick, working at a pinball machine factory in Chicago. Once they met, they were inseparable, literally together every single day until he was in the hospital and even then she went almost every single day to see him. They were married for 34 years before he passed away in November of 2014.

She had a deep love for music, sang in cantatas at church and played the guitar with her mom, Bohemia. She loved listening to John Denver, Elton John, Billy Joel, Hall and Oates, you know, the good stuff. She was a huge Beatles fan and passed that love of music down to her kids and grandkids. She loved playing video games with her husband, her daughters and her grandkids as well. She also enjoyed watching a variety of T.V. shows and movies as well.

She was truly the kindest, most giving person you would ever meet and everyone would always, and still do, say what a sweet lady she was.

She was preceded in death by: Her parents, Librado and Bohemia Reina, brother Librado Jr., sister Flora, her grandson Michael (Kelly) and husband Charles.

She is survived by: Her sister Pastora Ludena, 2 daughters Kelly (Steven) Chapple, Natasha (Justin) Wellman, 7 grandchildren: Crystal Edwards, Joseph Edwards, Amanda Wellman, Brayden Bjornberg, and Zelda, Fiona and Abbey Chapple, 3 great grandchildren: Kayden Whitehead, JayLynn Coleman and Zayden Morrison.

Memorial Service will be on February 28th, 2026 at First Congregational UCC in DeKalb, IL 60115 at 11 am.

Interment will be at a later date at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Ellwood, IL, where she will be reunited with Charles.

Arrangements were entrusted to Finch Funeral Home 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL 60115 815-758-3841.