New memorial fund named for late Jeri Delaney will support Sycamore High School special education program

SYCAMORE – A new memorial fund created to honor the life and legacy of the late Sycamore resident Jeri Delaney will support Sycamore High School’s special education program, according to the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

The DeKalb County Community Foundation and the Sycamore Education Foundation recently announced the creation of the new Jeri Delaney Memorial Fund, according to a news release.

The fund will be given to the SEF to award grants to the Sycamore High School special education program. The fund was created by Delaney’s family to memorialize her life and legacy in the Sycamore School District, according to the release.

Delaney was born in Joliet in 1945. She graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1963. Delaney worked as a savings teller for the National Bank and Trust until she married her husband, Pat. She moved to Champaign and worked as a secretary for a dean at the University of Illinois College of Business.

Delaney moved to Sycamore in 1970. She worked at Henderson’s Department Store, then for the Sycamore School District’s copy department. Delaney eventually began working as a teacher’s aide at Sycamore High School. She retired from teaching in 1999. Delaney received the Sycamore High School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019. She died in August 2022.

To make a donation to any fund at the DeKalb County Community Foundation, visit dekalbccf.org/donate or send via mail to the DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore.

For information, call 815-748-5383 or email dan@dekalbccf.org.