Ann Dahm
Born: February 20, 1943 in Joliet, IL
Died: January 6, 2026 in Louisville, CO
Ann Clarice Dahm, 82, beloved mother, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, daughter and friend, passed away after a bout of pneumonia on January 6, 2026 surrounded by her close family. She was a loving mother and loyal friend to many.
Ann was born on February 20, 1943 in Joliet, Illinois the daughter of Adolph & Maxine Kempf. The family moved to Des Plaines, IL before settling in Crystal Lake, IL in 1950 where Ann lived for the last fifty years of her life.
She attended Crystal Lake (Central) High School. She then attended the University of Iowa for 1 year prior to transferring to the University of Illinois where she earned both a bachelor's degree in Education & a master's degree in Library Science. She was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
She married her high school sweetheart Joseph Michael Dahm in Champaign, IL. They then moved to Massachusetts where they welcomed their first child, son Matthew. Their daughter Mandy was born a year later. Ann's husband passed away in 1975 so she moved back to Crystal Lake to be closer to both her parents & Mike's parents. Ann immediately returned to work in Crystal Lake as an English teacher & librarian in District #47 until she retired.
She was an avid reader who loved murder mysteries which she borrowed from the public library. She started with authors whose names began with the letter A and she made it all the way to the P's by the time she was forced to switch to audiobooks. Ann was a 50- year member of chapter JH of the P.E.O. Sisterhood (Philanthropic Education Organization) & a 20-year member of the Crystal Lake branch of A.A.U.W. (American Association of University Women), an advocacy group for women. She also loved her numerous book clubs, quilting groups, needlepoint guilds, Norwegian language classes, and she enjoyed extensive international travel.
Ann is survived by her two children Matthew & Mandy, brother Jim, sister's-in-law Tomoko, Janet, Diane, Mary Sue, Gail & Nancy, daughter-in-law Christine Dahm, grandchildren Lleyton & Caroline Dahm and many other family and friends.
A memorial service to honor her life will be held at 11am on June 27th at the First Church in Crystal Lake, IL (firstchurchcl.org).
In lieu of flowers, Ann requested that donations be made to the American Heart Association.
I remember Ann excelled at CLCHS, and I'm sure she did as an English teacher and librarian for the district (bless all librarians). Her mother, Maxine, a language arts teacher in CL for many years passed away only 10 years ago at age 101. She was an accomplished pianist as well. Definitely a mother-daughter duo to remember. Happy they were able to be together in CL in the later years.
Ann and I shared the same birthday, February 20. We kept in touch over the years. In her later years as her vision worsened, she started making cookies for her neighbors. She said she'd make dozens of cookies every week and give them all away. I thought she should write a cookbook of her favorite cookie recipes but she didn't go for the idea. She just wanted to keep busy.
We also shared many experiences at the First Methodist Church. Her dad and my dad worked at the same company, Pure Oil, and her brother was in my sister Marian's class, 2 years behind ours.
Ann was born with a serious congenital heart anomaly that today wouldn't be such a big deal because there are effective surgical optons. However, in 1943 none of those surgeries were available. She lived her life carefully to maintain optimal health all through her life. Every year or so she would return to the Mayo Clinic for evaluation. She told me that over the years she became like a rock star there because none of the younger physicians had ever seen anyone with her problem alive into their senior years! Ann said she lived way beyond her life expectancy, so how lucky can anyone get? Many fond memories of Ann and her family. May Ann's memory be a blessing to her family and friends.
Philip Kirchberg (Kirchberg)
It sounds like Ann enjoyed life and especially reading. So sorry we lost another classmate.
Susan Mary Carlson (Haase)
I remember Ann excelled at CLCHS, and I'm sure she did as an English teacher and librarian for the district (bless all librarians). Her mother, Maxine, a language arts teacher in CL for many years passed away only 10 years ago at age 101. She was an accomplished pianist as well. Definitely a mother-daughter duo to remember. Happy they were able to be together in CL in the later years.
Joan Ruth Woertz (Howard)
Ann and I shared the same birthday, February 20. We kept in touch over the years. In her later years as her vision worsened, she started making cookies for her neighbors. She said she'd make dozens of cookies every week and give them all away. I thought she should write a cookbook of her favorite cookie recipes but she didn't go for the idea. She just wanted to keep busy.
We also shared many experiences at the First Methodist Church. Her dad and my dad worked at the same company, Pure Oil, and her brother was in my sister Marian's class, 2 years behind ours.
Ann was born with a serious congenital heart anomaly that today wouldn't be such a big deal because there are effective surgical optons. However, in 1943 none of those surgeries were available. She lived her life carefully to maintain optimal health all through her life. Every year or so she would return to the Mayo Clinic for evaluation. She told me that over the years she became like a rock star there because none of the younger physicians had ever seen anyone with her problem alive into their senior years! Ann said she lived way beyond her life expectancy, so how lucky can anyone get? Many fond memories of Ann and her family. May Ann's memory be a blessing to her family and friends.