Obituary of Rosemary Dillon
Went to heaven peacefully in her sleep on December 12, 2019. She leaves behind to cherish her memory, her beloved husband of 27 years, John Dillon; her loving and adoring son, Michael Harris whom she shared with her former husband, Lee Harris and her precious dog Bella.
She is survived by her siblings, Maureen (Bob) Lawrie, Sally (Rex) Williams, Linda McNicholas, Brian (Cathy) McNicholas, Joan (Mike) Maroney and Laurie (Mike) Garland; her mother-in-law, Joan Dillon; her sister-in-law and friend, Katie Dillon; brothers-in-law, Timothy Dillon and Michael Dillon (Sue Dillon). She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Dillon, Jeannie Dillon and brother-in-law and sister-in-law Daniel and Mary Bannon.
Rosemary’s numerous nieces and nephews also survive her as well as her step children, Carmen Harris and Lee Ray Harris. Rosemary will also be missed by her special friend, Cheryl Mc Gee.
She was preceded in death by her cherished mother and father, Margaret “Peg” O’Dowd McNicholas and James McNicholas; her beloved sister, Gloria Rzepka and her treasured brothers, James McNicholas, John McNicholas and Raymond (Ray) McNicholas. Her nieces, Mary Kay McNicholas and Colleen Szudarski as well as her nephew, Sean Michael Feeney, also preceded her in death.
Rosemary grew up in Oak Lawn, Illinois, she was a true Irish lass. She was extremely proud of her 100 percent south side Irish heritage and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with great zeal! However, her favorite holiday was Christmas and she truly enjoyed buying the perfect presents for her family and friends and wrapping each gift as if it was a work of art by Picasso.
She was an extremely talented artist who loved painting, creating and designing “pretty things”, as she called them. Rosemary was very creative and loved arts and craft projects. She was an advocate for the underdog and took great pleasure in doing things for the less fortunate. She prayed to St. Jude daily and believed in his power to make things better. Reading was one of her favorite hobbies and she would spend countless hours on the patio turning the pages of her latest novel, often reading several books a week.
Rosemary was a graduate of the University of St. Francis and was blessed to work at Illinois Bell Telephone Company for many years at a job that she loved.
Visitation will be held on Monday, December 16, 2019, at Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Road (at Essington) Rds, Joliet, IL, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A celebration of Rosemary’s life will be held on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, beginning with prayers at the funeral home at 10:15 a.m. followed by a procession to St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 1705 Burry Circle Drive in Crest Hill, IL, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to Guardian Angel Groundwork Domestic Violence Program would be appreciated.
For more information, please call (815) 741-5500, or you may visit her Memorial Tribute at www.fredcdames.com
