Woman survives husband's murder to lead full life

People who knew Kathy Dion describe her as fun-loving, resourceful and accomplished. They also describe her as resilient.

As a student at the University of Illinois in 1975, the Arlington Heights native saw her husband murdered in their Champaign apartment as he tried to protect her and their young daughter.

Friends say they knew she would rebound from the tragedy and move forward, which she did.

Mrs. Dion married again three years later and had two more children, leading her to live a full life as a wife, mother and more recently, grandmother, as well as a respected insurance executive.

On Sept. 12, Mrs. Dion died unexpectedly in her sleep at her Chicago home. She was 55.

"Kathy was a strong-willed person who always found a way to get through whatever life threw at her," says Bill Paige, a lifelong friend and communications director at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines.

Mrs. Dion met her first husband, Joe Klein, in high school. She attended Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Rolling Meadows while he attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

They married shortly after graduation and lived in an apartment in Champaign while attending the University of Illinois. Their daughter, Lisa, soon came along, and when the robbery occurred she was asleep in her crib in the bedroom.

"It was a pair of armed robbers who broke in looking for stereo equipment," Paige says. "Joe was shot and killed, leaving Kathy with their baby."

Mrs. Dion returned to Arlington Heights immediately after the tragedy, but soon returned to Champaign with her child to continue her job, which was her introduction to the commercial insurance industry.

Her landlord at the time, George Dion, helped her find a new apartment, and offered her moral support as well. They married in 1977.

"Kathy had a lot of inner strength and it helped her through hard times," George Dion said. "She knew she had to keep on living. She wanted to have a full life and she refused to let herself sink into sorrow."

Her oldest daughter, Lisa, agreed, saying her mother rarely spoke of her father's murder, instead choosing to dwell on the present.

"She never laid down and said, 'I can't take this anymore,'" said Lisa Weber. "She just kept going."

The couple later lived in Rockton, IL before moving to Chicago, while Mrs. Dion steadily rose through the insurance ranks. At Lambent Risk Management in Chicago, she was an assistant vice president and senior account executive.

"Everything was all about servicing the clients," said her manager, Shirley Evans-Wofford. "She was excellent; a total professional."

Besides her husband and daughter, Mrs. Dion is survived by her children Eric (Courtney) Dion of Chicago and Amanda (Richard) Lowell of Barrington, as well as four grandchildren.

A memorial service will take place from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Los Globos, 3059 S. Central Park in Chicago.