Dorothea "Dotty" Lagesse

Visitation for Dorothea "Dotty" M. Lagesse, 64, of Batavia, formerly of Kankakee, will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home, Bourbonnais. Cremation rites will be accorded following the visitation. Private inurnment will be held in Mount Emblem Cemetery, Elmhurst, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley. Ms. Lagesse passed away Monday (March 24, 2014) at her home. Ms. Lagesse was the Executive Director of Hospice of Kankakee Valley from May 1990 to August 2013. Upon her retirement, the HKV Board of Directors established scholarships in her name at both Kankakee Community College and Olivet Nazarene University. She formerly worked at Catholic Charities. She was born March 12, 1950, in Kankakee, the daughter of Charles and Ione Pray MacDonald. She was a 1968 graduate of Bishop McNamara High School. Dotty attended Kankakee Community College and Illinois State University before receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Behavioral Sciences from National Louis University in 1990; and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2000 from Olivet Nazarene University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She received a certificate in Hospice Management in 1991 and a certificate in Business Administration in 1992, both from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was an active member in both her profession and community, serving on various state and local boards and committees including: United Way Agency (council member, president and marketing committee); St. Mary's Adult Day Care (advisory committee); Preferred Meal Program of Kankakee County Senior Services Providers (Silver Harvest); Our Lady of Victory Ethics and Mission Effectiveness Committee; YMCA (Board of Directors and Finance Committee); Palliative Committee of Riverside Medical Center; and Mission Integration Committee of Provena St. Mary's Hospital. She was board member and past president of the Illinois State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (IHPCO), where she serve on the Regulatory, Legislative, and Hospice-Veterans Partnership Committees. She was also a member of Kiwanis Club of Kankakee, the Tent of Abraham (an interfaith group) and several book clubs. Dotty received numerous awards including the Ralph E. Perry Student Award for Excellence in 2000, the Athena Award in 2008, and The Daily Journal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. She loved to read. She enjoyed exercise and was an advocate for health and well being. She also enjoyed spending time with her four grandchildren. Surviving are two daughters and sons-in-law, Monica and Frank Smogur, of Batavia, and Meredith and Ken Cirrincione, of Downers Grove; four grandchildren, Emma, Nathan and Grace Smogur, and Bella Cirrincione; her mother, of Naperville; brother and sister-in-law, Scott B. and Annie MacDonald, of Kankakee; sisters and brothers-in-law, Diane and Mike Ely, Debbie Ball, and Darlene Wieliczko, all of Bourbonnais, Denise MacDonald, of Bradley, Dolores and Greg Stefanski, of Downers Grove, Donna and Al Moore, of Benton, Darla and Jeff Marshall, of Minonk, Doris MacDonald, of Warrenville, Dawn and John Grebe, of Wheaton, Dana and Marc Bernicky, of Plainfield, and Dara MacDonald, of Wheaton; many nieces and nephews; and many great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her father; two sisters, Deanna Larsen and Danielle MacDonald; and one nephew, Kyle Stefanski. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley - hkvcares.org

Dorothea "Dotty" Lagesse

March 12, 1950 - March 24, 2014