Sally Ann Reiff Dickey, 88, of Northbrook, IL, went peacefully to her heavenly home on Friday, December 19, 2025.
Sally was born January 5, 1937, in Columbus, OH, the daughter of Dr. N. Melville Reiff and Martha Huston Reiff. She grew up in Washington Court House and graduated from Washington High School. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University where she majored in speech and theatre and met her husband-to-be, E. James Dickey, who was planning on becoming a Methodist minister. During her freshman year, she became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta national sorority; was initiated into Theta Alpha Phi, a speech and theatre honorary, and Kappa Delta Pi, an education honorary. Although she was active in campus life, she missed her Jim so much who was already in Boston in graduate school. They decided to marry and have Sally enroll in Boston University for her senior year. She discovered a new field of speech therapy which she was able to major in and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in education in the summer of 1959. Sally continued to work as a speech therapist in two schools, Lynnfield and Middleton, MA while Jim completed his theological education.
Returning to Ohio, they served churches in Columbus, Medway, Wilmington and Springfield. Sally directed plays and children’s musicals in worship services as well as establishing two community nursery schools in Medway and Wilmington, where she also taught for several years. She also enrolled in post graduate studies at The Ohio State University. Throughout the years she remained active in her children’s school activities for which she received the (Columbus) Northwest Rotary Woman of the Year Award. She served as house corporation chairman for her sorority for several years and worked for the Upper Arlington’s Community Involvement Program where she produced the “UA Today” television show; was editor of the Community Calendar of Events and the ACT Committee. She later joined Ohio Wesleyan as the associate director of the Annual Fund, where the staff was able to raise the first million-dollar gifts to the University. She was elected to serve two terms on the OWU Alumni Board, was the president of the Columbus Monnett Cub, and then elected to the National Monnett Club (Women of OWU). She served on the annual fund council; was chairman of the 25th reunion committee and in 1985, was awarded the outstanding alumni award from OWU. A brick was placed in her honor at the entrance to Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Dickeys knew they would need a place to live when Jim retired, so they began building a home at Indian Lake, OH where Sally’s great grandparents previously had retired many years ago. They moved to the lake in 1998 and began to be active in the Indian Lake Community Church where Jim was asked to be the interim minister. Sally sang in the choir, rang handbells, and began to raise money to save the Holland Theatre, a beautiful historical building designed to replicate a Dutch village with working windmills. They also drove to Florida where they purchased a condo to spend the winters. In 2010, they decided to move to Florida where they would have sunshine every day. They had been living in Northbrook since 2019.
She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter-in-law, Ann Forrest Dickey and more recently by sister-in-law, Janet Dickey Seese.
She leaves behind her devoted husband, Jim, whom she married August 17, 1958; four children, Debby Shellard of Glenview, IL, Dr. Doug (Dee) Dickey of Orlando, Fl, Dave Dickey of Minneapolis, MN, and Derek (Anna Kertesz) Dickey of Bethesda, MD; eleven grandchildren, Robby (Sarah Sarkesian) Shellard, Jessy (Kyle) Gilbert, Austin (Abby Turay) Dickey, Ali (Nick) Freeman, Adam Dickey, Katie Dickey, Elizabeth Dickey, Jack Dickey, Josh Dickey, Abby Dickey and Charlotte Dickey. Sally was thrilled to welcome great-grandchildren Joy Dickey, Henry Shellard, Abraham Dickey and Jack Gilbert. Also surviving is Sally’s sister, Mary Jo Pollock and her husband, Sam, of Bonita Springs, FL and Jim’s sibling, Dr. Gerald L. Dickey of Cincinnati.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 1, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the Kirkpatrick Funeral Home in Washington Court House with Dr. Gerald Dickey officiating. Burial of her cremains will follow in Washington Cemetery.
Friends may call at the funeral home one hour prior to the service to greet the family on Saturday.
www.kirkpatrickfuneralhome.com
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