Ann Van Haun, Ex-Mayor of Lake Forest, Dies at 64

Ann Van Haun, former mayor of Lake Forest who was instrumental in the city’s 1991 incorporation, died Friday of complications from heart disease. She was 64.

Van Haun served as mayor from 1992 to 1996. She also had been on the city’s first council in 1991.

An Orange County resident for almost 40 years, Van Haun attended a council meeting Tuesday to voice her support for a plan to annex Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills.

Her son, Charles Wingard of San Clemente, said community involvement was his mother’s top priority. “She respected the rights of the minority as much as the rights of the majority,” he said.

Kathryn McCullough, who served with Van Haun for two years on the City Council, said Van Haun was known for her unwavering sense of fairness in city politics.

“She was one that did not come off the rafters,” McCullough said. “She kept a level head even when tempers were flying or it was a hot issue.”

After losing a reelection bid two years ago, Van Haun was considering running for office in November, but she had slowed her civic involvement after a series of health problems, including a kidney transplant and two hip replacements.

“She exhibited a lot of strength through these physical ordeals,” Wingard said. “Whether she had a walker or a cane, she still wanted to be involved in everything.”

She is survived by three sons, Charles, Philip and Michael Wingard, and daughter Lisa Baba. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The family is requesting donations in her name to the Kidney Foundation in lieu of flowers.