Classic Chicago Woman November 2016

 

 

Illustrated by Rosemary Fanti

 

Written by Megan McKinney

Wendy Wood-Prince: Petite, gracious, strikingly pretty . . . Lifelong world traveler . . . Travel agent . . . Valued Classic Chicago magazine columnist . . . Prominent philanthropist . . . Highly visible representative of a leading Chicago and Newport dynasty.

Once: Raised on Chicago’s North Shore . . . Frequent family travel to the Bahamas, developing a love of ocean, sea life—especially squid, octopus . . . Lake Forest Country Day School . . . Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA . . . Passavant Cotillion debutante . . . Pre-college: various Chicago retailers . . . Owner, Handle With Care, an Old Town boutique . . . Lived in Saudia Arabia, acquiring fondness for scuba diving in the Red Sea, reinforcing “a love for all things in the water” . . . Back to North Shore Chicago and biology degree at Lake Forest College.

Of Lifelong Travel Focus: “With a freelance journalist father and a photographer mother, I grew up traveling with my parents and siblings. We traveled everywhere, from the back roads of Wisconsin to Europe, Africa, and the Bahamas, birthplace of my maternal grandmother . . . I love the excitement and adventure. . . Although I have my favorite places, the Bahamas being one of them, I am always up for discovering a new venue.”

Now: House in Lake Forest, with youngest daughter, Eleanor, a high school senior . . . frequent travel to destinations both near and far, relaxing and/or exotic.

Career: Travel agent for Lake Forest Travel Bureau . . . Writing Wendy Worldwide, popular Classic Chicago magazine travel column.

For the Public Good: Raising funds for Northwestern Medicine on The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital . . . Board membership, Friends of Conservation to fund conservation and education in East Africa.

Diversions: Caring for one cat and two dogs. “One dog was a rescue that I brought back from the Bahamas.” . . . “I truly cherish my friends and family at home and in faraway places immensely, they make my life meaningful.” . . . Enjoys entertaining guests and watching films—often outside “on an outdoor screen with a fire roaring.”

What’s Next: To continue to travel, discovering new places and enjoying many familiar ones “with my precious family and friends.”

Classic Connections: Beloved granddaughter of two of the 20th century’s most prominent Chicago and Newport citizens, the late Eleanor and William Wood-Prince . . . Great-granddaughter of Frederick H. Prince, owner of Chicago’s legendary Union Stockyards, and 1920s savior of Armour & Company.