Carrie Ann Dierks

Carrie Ann Dierks A memorial Mass celebrating the life of Carrie Ann Dierks, formerly of Des Plaines and Evanston, will be held on Saturday, Feb.16, at St. Anne Catholic Community, 120 Ela St., Barrington, Ill. The Reverend John Dewes will officiate. Visitation with family will begin 11 a.m., with the Mass following at noon. Carrie was born Jan. 1, 1960, in DeKalb, Ill., and passed away Jan. 26, 2008, at her home in Decatur, Ga. after a brief illness. Carrie was a graduate of Maine West High School. She attended Bradley University and graduated, cum laude, from Loyola University with a degree in English. She later earned her master of science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Carrie began her career at Scott, Foresman & Co. as an editor. She then went into freelance writing, until she began working as a project editor for the Field Museum in Chicago. She also worked for the Denver Museum of Natural History, before moving to Georgia to continue her education. In recent years, her extraordinary talent as a writer and exhibit developer for museums all over the United States has been widely respected and admired. In the early 1990s, she co-authored five science books for children. She also was dedicated to volunteering, most recently with Hands On Atlanta, counseling a displaced family who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. Carrie delighted in spending time with her nieces and nephews on her visits home. She is survived by her parents, Diane and Charles Dierks of Marengo, Ill.; her brothers, James (Patricia) of St. Charles and Gregory (Michele) of Geneva; her sister, Joleen (Jon) Batek of Batavia; her nieces and nephews, Ian and Stephanie Dierks, Erik, Alissa, Joseph and Sarah Dierks, and Kevin and Alan Batek; her grandmother, Rose Klier; her aunts, Mary Suzanne and Margaret Dierks; her uncles, George (Carol) Klier and Donald Dierks; and cousins, David (Therese), Timothy, Gary (Annie), Christopher (Maureen) Klier and John (Heidi) Dierks. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Mary and Edgar Dierks and George Klier; her uncle, John Dierks; and nephew, Brian Dierks. Memorials in her memory may be made to United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation, 1025 Connecticut Avenue - Suite 701, Washington, DC 20036, or visit www.ucpresearch.org.