Obituary: Gibb

Dianne Elaine Fisher Gibb passed away peacefully at the age of 80 at Brighton Gardens

Memory Care Community of St. Charles, Illinois, after a six-year struggle with Lewy Body

Dementia.

Dianne was born in Urbana, Illinois, to George Harry and Ruth M. Fitzgerald

Fisher. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Donald G. Gibb; daughter Alison C.

(Roberto) Tirona; and grandchildren Adam, Elise, Isaac, and Ian Tirona. Dianne is also

survived by her siblings-in-law, David A. (Maggie) Gibb, Anita L. Gibb, and James B.

(Helen) Gibb; nephew Matt (Katrina) Kinate; nieces Jennifer (Matt) Porzel, Susan

Broquard, Melinda (Josh) Hand; and ten great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in

death by her mother and father; grandmother Frances (James) Fitzgerald; aunts Mary

(Paul) Madigan and Nelle (Ernest) Duffield; and nephew Chris Gibb.

Dianne earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Music Education from the

University of Illinois. While studying at the U of I, she was inducted into Sigma Alpha Iota

and Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Societies. She taught K-12 vocal music for the

Chatsworth and Melvin-Sibley School Districts, gave piano and voice lessons in her home

for over 40 years, and directed numerous community choirs. Dianne was a member and

choir director at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Chatsworth, Illinois, and Trinity Lutheran

Church in Fairbury, Illinois.

During her adult life, Dianne resided in Chatsworth, Fairbury, Naperville, and West

Chicago, all in Illinois. Through the years, she was a member of several community

organizations, but her main passions were sitting for hours at the piano playing pieces

composed by Chopin, playing bridge in several clubs, entertaining friends and family in

her home, enjoying spirited board and card games with her family, and adoring her cats.

Dianne had in her heart a special feeling toward anything related to her ancestral

country, Ireland, where she and Don visited in 2010. She also revered the Fitzgerald

families’ continuous ownership since 1879 of a small parcel of farmland in southern

Champaign County, Illinois.

At Dianne’s request, cremation has been accorded. A private family interment will be

held at Roselawn Cemetery in Urbana, Illinois, where she will be buried alongside her

mother. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association,

the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or any animal shelter.

Messages of condolence may be sent to the Gibb Family, 970 Cherrywood Ln., West

Chicago, Illinois, 60185.