JOLIET – When former Joliet resident Dolores Gallagher was a fifth-grade student at Eliza Kelly Elementary School in Joliet, she did two things.

She raised her hand when her teacher asked, “Who would like to memorize ‘The Gettysburg Address?’ ” and she announced her desire to be a teacher, said Marlene Pagliei of Crest Hill, Dolores’ sister.

“On Memorial Day at the Will County Courthouse, she gave ‘The Gettysburg Address,’ ” Marlene said. “I remember sitting there. She wore her yellow dress. When you don’t have a lot of money for clothes, you remember a yellow dress.”

From where did Delores gain her love of history? Perhaps it went back to her being born in the same room in the same Indiana house as her father was born, Marlene said. At any rate, Dolores used that love for history and teaching in many ways.

After receiving her teaching degree from Eastern Illinois University, Dolores taught for two years in Joliet at Forest Park School, then three years in Denver.

From there, Dolores and her husband Dan moved to Genoa, where Dan’s family lived, Marlene said. Dolores taught for 25 years for the school district of Genoa-Kingston CUSD 424 and immersed herself in the fabric of that small town.

Dolores was an active member of St. Catherine of Genoa Church, the Genoa Garden Club – one of the oldest garden clubs in Illinois, Marlene said – the Kishwaukee Valley Heritage Society, the DeKalb County Quilters Guild and the Main Street Committee.

Dolores’ activity in those clubs often included fundraising, Marlene said.

She even collected recipes and wrote the forwards for two cookbooks, Marlene said. One was simply called, “Genoa Garden Club.” Dolores’ forward included a history of that club, from 1928 to 2003, the publication date.

The second, “Pioneer Day Cookbook 2014,” published by the Kishwaukee Valley Heritage Society, included many recipes from the late 1800s to early 1900s, recipes handed down from the submitters’ mothers and grandmothers, Marlene said.

But then, Marlene said, Delores also loved cooking. They both learned to make ravioli from their mother and still prepared it during the holidays, Marlene during Christmas and Delores on New Year’s Day.

Delores’ other specialties included bagna cauda and gnocchi, Marlene said. They both clipped and shared cookie recipes from newspapers and periodicals. Many years ago, Marlene even won a Herald-News recipe contest with a zucchini recipe from Delores, she said.

But Dolores also blessed Marlene with her passions. She made a Civil War-style quilt in memory of a vacation they took to Mississippi. Marlene had the quilt appraised and learned it was worth $1000.

An avid reader, Dolores also recommended books. Marlene’s favorite of those books was “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” which Marlene has, in turn, recommended to others.

“She was such a nice person and never said a bad thing about anyone,” Marlene said.

Ultimately, Dolores’ husband Dan believes, Dolores was a person of love.

Early in their courtship, he said, Dolores said she had much love in her heart for others and that she revealed her soul to him through her eyes and their correspondence. Dolores was 76 when she died Sept. 21.

“She was an extraordinary person to have known for over 51 years and as a teacher,” Dan sad. “I am still one of her students.”

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