Lisa Marie Pardon

LIVESTREAM SERVICE:

Lisa's Livestream Service will begin at 12 noon CT on Friday, November 14, 2025. Scroll down to the Webcast section and click on "Watch Now."

MIDDLETON - Lisa Marie Pardon, of Middleton, Wis., died peacefully in the presence of loving family on October 21, 2025. Lisa was born Lisa Marie Schilling on September 19, 1957, in Los Angeles, Calif. She is survived by her husband, Edward John Pardon; daughter, Kailani Fu Yin Pardon; brother, Eric (Susan Wood) Schilling; sisters, Julie (Robert) Habiger, Mia (David) Reiser and Ann Schilling; brother and sisters-in-law, Kenneth (Christina Wiederhold) Pardon and Marla Pardon Day; and mother-in-law, Patricia Pardon. She was preceded in death by her mother, Jodelle Hendrickson and father, John Schilling.

Lisa grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her early years in Concord were filled with family camping and horse books, horseback riding and her German Shepherd, Zoni. Lisa was entering high school when the family moved to Berkeley. She found her place at Berkeley High School of the Arts where she thrived in theatrical arts, graduating in 1976. After graduation she worked at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She later enrolled in the College of Marin’s renowned Theater Arts program where she blossomed into an exceptional stage manager, lighting technician and sound engineer. Lisa was a member of the Equity Actors Association and worked in theatres in the Bay Area, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York, including the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Group Theatre, The Bathhouse Theatre, and Joseph Papp’s Festival Latino de Nueva. She also served as a tour guide on The Queen Mary. In 1991 she moved to the Miami area to work in the music industry, including at Crescent Moon Studio and Criteria Recording Studio, where she worked for artists such as Gloria Estafan, Jon Secada, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, INXS, Extreme and Jose Luis Rodriguez. Lisa also worked as a sound engineer and stage manager on cruise ships throughout the Caribbean.

In 1993, Lisa decided to continue her education and enrolled at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa where she graduated with distinction in 1996 with a degree in Asian Studies. She then fulfilled a dream of becoming a lawyer, earning a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1999. Following that, Lisa practiced litigation, real property and trademark law in Hawaii and Wisconsin, working at Elisha Ekimoto & Harada in Honolulu and at the Brennan Steil and Neider & Boucher law firms in Madison. Lisa also worked for American Girl, operated a solo practice, served on the Plan Commission and as Clerk for the Town of Middleton, and was a candidate for the Town Board. She was one of a few experts in condominium law and authored several publications in this area, but her proudest legal accomplishment was uncovering a well-hidden embezzlement scheme targeting a low-income condominium association and leading an investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator as well as the successful recovery of all of the lost funds.

Lisa had many varied interests which reflected her curiosity and love of life. She rode horses and participated in a horse drive in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. She was a talented painter, and she was a “coffee connoisseur” who once worked for Alfred Peet, the founder of Peet’s coffee. She was also an avid student of geology, languages, history, and culture. She studied Hindi, Mandarin, French, and Spanish, and was fluent in Italian. Lisa traveled to Europe for the first time in her mid-twenties which began her love affair with travel and especially Italy. She later traveled to Italy multiple times to study its rich history and language. She was particularly knowledgeable about the history of the Etruscans, who preceded the Romans, but her greatest treasure was the friendships she established while traveling and studying. She also traveled to Indonesia, China, India and throughout Europe, and was especially well-versed in the history of India and Hawaii.

Despite her many varied experiences, Lisa said that the most fulfilling part of her life was her family. She met Ed in law school and they married on September 9, 2002, in Honolulu. They were true best friends. In June 2005 they traveled together to China to bring home Kailani who, as Lisa repeatedly said, “made us a family.” Lisa poured her heart and soul into ensuring that Kailani’s life was filled with love, learning, and meaningful experiences such as travel, music, science experiments, and countless inspiring Mother-Daughter talks. Lisa instilled a sense of curiosity in Kailani and left this world thrilled that Kailani became a talented violinist and fiddler, a successful physics major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a kind and mature young woman.

Lisa’s greatest gifts were her directness, her curiosity, her empathy, the pure joy she experienced with daily living, and most importantly, her ability to teach these traits to others. She had a knack for making connections with anyone who was an “underdog” and for subtly providing encouragement and emotional support for many friends and family. She was especially good at encouraging others and loved to hear about others’ successes. She played a pivotal role in encouraging and fostering Ed’s legal career. She shared wise “Lisa-isms,” like “every misadventure makes a good story” and “no balloon has a happy ending.” She leaves a huge hole in the hearts of her family, friends, and acquaintances, but also left knowing that their lives are richer for what she taught them.

A celebration of Lisa’s life will be held at GUNDERSON FITCHBURG FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 2950 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg, on Friday, November 14, 2025. A memorial service will be held at 12 noon Central Standard Time. An informal luncheon will follow the service at the same location. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Friday. Family and friends who wish to view the service via LIVESTREAM may visit Lisa’s obituary page at www.gundersonfh.com at the time of the service and click on "Watch Now" in the Webcast section.

Family and friends are encouraged to share anecdotes, memories or thoughts at the memorial service and can be read on your behalf if you prefer. If you would like to contribute, please submit to mgalvan@gundersonfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, Lisa’s family suggests contributions in her name be made to the Madfiddle Resilience Fund. Madfiddle is a youth violin ensemble that helps young musicians grow through shared music making. Lisa was an enthusiastic supporter of Madfiddle and saw first-hand how this program improved the lives and confidence of its participants. The Resilience Fund provides tuition and other support for students with financial need. For more information see “Scholarships” at www.madfiddlelessons.com/madfiddle.

Online condolences and photos of Lisa may be shared at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson Fitchburg

Funeral & Cremation Care

2950 Chapel Valley Road

(608) 442-5002