Mary Dickerman Obituary

Mary Ellen (Molly) Dickerman, 57, of Downers Grove, passed away in the comfort of her own home with her husband at her side on December 29, 2012. Molly grew up in Downers Grove, the daughter of Barbara and the late Charles Dickerman. Molly graduated with a bachelor of music from Drake University in 1977 and after doing documentation and editorial assistant jobs for several years she returned to school to earn a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Molly was employed in the research and development group of Kemlite/Crane Composites for 21 years where she was known for her organizational and data management skills and the creativity that she brought to even the most mundane of tasks. Molly met her husband of 32 years at work within days of his starting. She knew from the earliest moments that he was the one (he was tall and his name was Mike) but it took almost a year of a unique combination of tenacity and sweetness on her part to help him to figure it out too. From a young age Molly developed an appetite for words. To friends and coworkers, Molly was the go to person if you needed to check the spelling of a word, needed a word defined or just wanted to engage in a little wordplay. Charles and Barbara instilled an appreciation of classical music in Molly from an early age. As a teenager she extended her musical tastes to pop music of all kinds. Molly's mix tapes (and later her MP3 playlists) were always an interesting combination of old and new music. Molly was known to friends and family for her baking skills and especially for the magical chocolate creations that she would make for birthdays and holidays. Even though her illness robbed her of a desire for the taste or smell of food, she continued watching cooking shows on the Create Network looking for something that might spark an interest and help strengthen her. After leaving Kemlite/Crane Composites, Molly rekindled her crocheting skills by making shopping bags for friends and family and making baby blankets, baby bonnets and children's hats and mittens for charity. Molly donated her remains to science in the hope of fostering greater knowledge and understanding of pancreatic cancer. Memorial contributions can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Molly made close friends easily and maintained contact with many. Molly is survived by her husband, Mike Flynn; her mother, Barbara; and her brothers, Joel, John and Jim. Arrangements entrusted to West Suburban Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Westmont. 630-852-8000

Published by South DuPage Reporter/Progress on Jan. 4, 2013.
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We will always remember her kind smile. Molly was a sincere and geniune person. She was very intelligent,creative and had a quirky sense of humor. She was always so nice to everyone here, we are very happy that we had the privilege to work with her. God Bless Molly and her family. Tom Semplinski & Karen Strong

January 8, 2013

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