A lifetime of service: Dixon chaplain honored with national award

DIXON — The Rev. Vincent Marrandino is there when people need it most.

For more than three decades, Marrandino has served as a chaplain helping countless community members, often when they’re experiencing the worst.

That could mean comforting an officer after a traumatic experience or knocking on the door of someone who just lost a loved one to guide them through the grieving process.

It’s not easy, but there’s a sense of fulfillment knowing he helped people in their time of crisis, Marrandino said. With his psychology background, he provides not only pastoral care, but also counseling.

“I always had it in my heart to be a chaplain,” the 69-year-old said. “I never lost the want for it.”

Friends, family and ministry officials traveled from different states and celebrated Marrandino’s contributions Friday as he was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the National Chaplains Association at the Dixon Police Department.

Marrandino came to Dixon in 1988 as chaplain for inmates at the Dixon Correctional Center, where he served for more than a dozen years. He was also the director of pastoral care at KSB Hospital for 16 years, seeing thousands of patients.

He was mostly retired but continued his 20-year tenure as a police chaplain. He volunteered for the Lee County Sheriff’s Department for about a decade and is senior chaplain for the Dixon Police Department. Regionally, he was also part of the Northern Illinois Critical Incident Stress Management Team.

Marrandino has worked with law enforcement, crime victims and their families to talk through what they’ve seen and also provided on-call spiritual guidance, counseling, and critical stress debriefings for anyone who might need it.

“It’s about being able to help someone in turmoil, whether that’s emotionally or physically,” he said. “I’m there for when they want to talk to me.”

His wife, Betty, who was a special education counselor for more than 25 years, spoke of how proud she was of him and his dedication to others.

“He’s always served with a smile,” she said. “He truly has a gift to help others, and he has been a great asset to the community.”

The couple have three children and four grandchildren, and Marrandino said he looks forward to spending more time with them.

Marrandino has served a wide variety of people in the community and said he was humbled by the award.

“There’s quite a bit of diversity in the ministry and so much knowledge I’ve gained from people in different situations in life,” he said.