Kristine Marie Messitt

Kristine Marie Messitt

March 27, 1942 - Dec. 26, 2022

WHEATON - Kristine Marie (McNeely) Messitt, 80, passed away on December 26, 2022, at home in Wheaton, IL.

Born and raised in Bloomington, IL, Kristine's childhood was marked by her parents' medical careers, her family's quarter horse ranch, her childhood summers on a working ranch in Colorado, staying with her grandparents in the apartment above their jewelry store, and her love for swimming in Lake Bloomington. She was the second eldest of four children.

Kristine graduated from Holy Trinity High School in Bloomington in 1960, and St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Evanston in 1963.

She worked in Pediatrics at Illinois Research and Education Hospital during the week and in the Emergency Room at Cook County Hospital - where her mother had once worked - on weekends. During one of her shifts in the ER, Kristine phoned for the resident-on-call to ask for a patient consult. The resident who answered was Dr. John J. Messitt. The two were married on July 11, 1964. Immediately after their honeymoon, the two moved to Wheaton, where they'd stay for 58 years.

Kris and John started working at Central DuPage Hospital the day it opened - September 15, 1964. Kristine was the nurse charged to set up the Emergency Room, where she continued to work until the birth of her first daughter in 1965.

For 32 years, Kristine had children at home - on Wheaton Place, on St. Charles Road, and Dickinson Drive.

She was the high school CCD coordinator at St. Mark's Parish in the 60s, a Cub Scout den mother in the 70s, and the cheerleading coach at St. Michael's and St. Francis High School in the 70s and 80s. She sewed cheerleading uniforms, clothing for her children (and eventually for her eldest daughter's first pregnancy), and alongside her friends in the sewing group (where she chatted more than she stitched).

Kristine was a problem-solver and a caregiver. She had a deep kindness and humble nature that prevented most from knowing the extent of her service and care for others. And this is how she preferred it. She was the person to have on your side in a crisis.

As her eldest daughters went to college, Kristine returned to school and earned an Associate degree from College of DuPage. She was awarded the Wall Street Journal Award, established by Dow Jones, to recognize excellence in the study of business and economics. Proud of this accomplishment, she went on to work as a personal banker for a few years at Gary Wheaton Bank before returning to nursing.

Kristine worked as a nurse at the DuPage Community Clinic for nearly twenty years (1991 - 2010). She started as a volunteer when the clinic was little more than Saturday office hours, a volunteer doctor and a donated exam table in an office space shared with DuPage PADS, another organization for which she volunteered. Eventually, she was employed as one of their many nurses, working alongside a long roster of doctors and administrative support - serving countless patients with critical free medical care.

When Kristine's youngest left the house, she joined the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team - something she'd wanted to do since graduating nurse's training. She started her training in 1997, and received her first assignment in September 1998: three weeks in Puerto Rico in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Georges. She walked from home to home, interviewing families and individuals and assessing their needs - medical, emotional, and material.

When she returned home to Wheaton, she received an American Red Cross nurse's pin with an engraved number on the back, 368817, meaning 368,816 nurses who had trained and volunteered in service of the ARC before her. She took tremendous pride in this.

Kristine went on to serve as a nurse in New York City after 9/11, the Bourbonnais train derailment, countless building fires across Chicagoland, flood-related shelters, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and other disaster action team assignments. She also took part in bioterrorism disaster preparedness and large-scale drills, and once had the honor of being named Volunteer of the Year for the Red Cross. After several years of service as the Midwestern Chairman of the ARC Nurse Network, she retired in 2012.

Kristine was a devout Catholic who, from a young age, found comfort in attending mass on a daily basis. As a little girl in Bloomington, IL, she used to cross the street to catch the public bus and make her way to early morning mass, after which she would have donuts with the nuns and then head to school. For nearly twenty years, she served as a Eucharistic Minister for St. Michael's Parish, Central DuPage Hospital, and the DuPage Care Center, visiting the sick and homebound.

Kristine is preceded in death by her son, Michael Lee Messitt; her sister, Deborah Anne McNeely; her brother, George Bradley ("Dude") McNeely; her father, George Bradley McNeely; and her mother, Elsie Marie (Katz) McNeely.

Kristine is survived by her husband, Dr. John J. Messitt; her brother, Timothy McNeelynd; and six children: Katherine (Messitt) Konyar, Patricia (Messitt) DeMuyt, Jennifer (Messitt) Roberts, John Messitt, Annette Messitt, and Maggie Messitt. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Kacy Andrews; her sons-in-law: Patrick Hinds and Kevin Haworth; and her fifteen grandchildren: Grace, Peter, and Michael Konyar; Joseph, Jacqueline, Christopher, and Harry DeMuyt; Aubrey and Alexandria Roberts; Rosalyn Messitt Hinds; Sawyer, Fox, and Dashiell Messitt; and Zev and Ruthie Haworth.

A visitation will be held at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home (430 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton) on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and a funeral mass will be held at St. Michael's Church (310. S. Wheaton Ave.) on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Mass will be available livestream for those who wish to join but are unable to do so in-person.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in Kristine's name at the People's Resource Center (https://www.peoplesrc.org/how-to-give/).