Kristien Ainsley

Kristien Joan Ainsley, 71, of Ottawa, passed away Sunday, July 5, 2026 at OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Peru.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, July 18 from 9:00am until 10:30am at Ottawa Funeral Home. A funeral mass will follow at 11:00am at St. Columba Church. Cremation rites have been entrusted to Ottawa Funeral Home

Kristien was born March 23, 1955 in Cincinnati, OH to Joseph and Joann (Riordan) Maher. She married Peter Ainsley in June of 1993. She was an avid animal lover. She had horses when she was younger and many dogs throughout the years. She enjoyed the outdoors, hiking, canoeing, camping, and taking family trips to Starved Rock and Michigan. She was a board game whiz at Scrabble and Yahtzee. She enjoyed tending to her flower garden and reading a good Stephen King novel.

She is survived by her husband, Peter Ainsley; her children, Jeremy Thorson, Jim Thorson, Bridger (Valerie Rodriguez) Ainsley, and Quentin (Lauren Lenox) Ainsley; her granddaughter, Gabriella; her twin sister, Kathy Peterson; and her siblings, Karen (Mike) Wons, Kim (Mike) Petrus, and Joe (Shawn) Maher.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Joann.

Memorial contributions in her honor may be directed to the family.