Isabella Maria Csikszentmihalyi, née Selega, passed away at her home of 23 years in Claremont, CA on June 8, 2023. She was born in Poland, daughter of a schoolteacher, but after their home was burned down by Nazis, the family was taken to Dachau and forced labor camps in Germany. The family emigrated to the US as farm laborers in rural Pennsylvania; when her father died Isabella was eventually resettled with her mother, sister, and brother in Chicago.

After graduating from Tuley High School and University of Illinois, she met and married Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who would go on to become a notable professor and author at the University of Chicago. They settled on Hyde Park Boulevard, where they would live for 29 years.

Isabella worked as an editor at Encyclopedia Britannica, Jenner & Block, and for various academic journals including Animal Behavior. Isabella was co-credited on several of Mihaly's works, but uncredited on countless more: for decades her command of English grammar and eagle eyes buttressed Mihaly's writing, while her management of the house and delicious cooking would make her family’s careers possible. She was a tireless supporter of her two children, Mark and Christopher; a philanthropist to progressive politics and environmentalism; and loved flowers until her final day. She is survived by her sister Kristine; niece Cybele; nephew Karl; her sons and their wives, Annie Hope and Gemma Rodrigues; and grandchildren Emily, Henry, Kinga, Aschalew, Zofia, and Iris.