Dawn S. Stevens

Dawn S Stevens (age 62) of Kewanee, IL went to be with Christ on January 13 at Osf St. Mary's in Galesburg Illinois.
She was born to Jesse and Bonnie Stevens(Garrison) on October 25th 1963, spending her entire childhood in Elmore, Illinois. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Jay Stevens. She is survived by her adopted parents Fred and Darlene Reiner, her children Michelle Breckenridge Lane(Nic Lane) and her son Mark Breckenridge(Sarah Durkin), her grandchildren Syra Lane, Elijah Breckenridge, and Bella Durkin, her nieces Stephanie Pappas(Bill), Chelsea Gray(Jake), and Lyndsay (Tyler) Richards, her nephews Josh Stevens(Kim) and Jesse Stevens(Cheryl), and her many great nieces and nephews.
Dawn found great joy being raised with so much family. She often told stories about her adventures and mischief with her cousins, spending time with aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents. This is where she believed her heart for geriatric care stemmed from. She graduated in 1981 from Williamsfield high school. Lovingly called "Mighty Mouse" because of her stature, Dawn always believed in doing your best and consistently studied well to always remain on the honor roll.
After graduation, she went on to work at Breese machining being the first and only female CNC operator taking extra calculus courses to ensure she was the most skilled. During this period, she enjoyed helping to raise Stephanie and Josh and felt that they were the kids that sparked a deep maternal love. She spent time riding her horses and was briefly in the All-American rodeo. One of the great joys in her life was raising her pets and teaching them all the tricks she could think of. She became a mother in 1990 and again in 1992. Soon after she worked at Alcoa using her impressive strength to be the only woman working on the line to support her 2 small children. In her late 30s, she went back to school and got a certification to become a CNA and later became certified and volunteered at Stark County to be an EMT. She found calling in her work at Apostolic Skylines nursing home and later as a tech at OSF St. Francis earning countless Daisy awards. She loved giving care and dignity to every resident and patient she encountered. After becoming disabled, she lived with her daughter and son. She enjoyed spending time at the senior center, swimming at the Y, and fishing at Windmont with her dogs where she became the "pink scooter lady." She was a true believer in Christ and imparted those teachings to her children so that they would have the gift of knowing the Lord.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 23 at 4:00 pm with a visitation two hours prior to services at the Hurd-Hendricks Funeral Homes & Crematory in Knoxville, Illinois. Burial will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to the Fulton County Humane Society. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dawn, please visit our floral store.