Dionne (Winkleman) Gillespie

A Memorial Mass for Dionne Gillespie, age 89, of Norfolk, Nebraska will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 5, 2024, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Norfolk. Reverend Brett Jamrog will be celebrant, with burial in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Norfolk.

Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2024, at the church, with a 7:00 p.m. Vigil Service.

Home for Funerals in Norfolk is in charge of arrangements.

Dionne Gillespie passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 18, 2024, surrounded by her children at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk.

Dionne was born on November 30, 1934, in Fremont, Nebraska to Richard Winkleman and Cecelia (Ederer) Winkleman. After high school, Dionne continued her education at College of St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska with a focus on elementary education. She met the love of her life, Joel Gillespie, on a blind date and set sail with marriage on August 6, 1955, in Omaha. The eight children the couple was blessed with, their frequently visiting friends, and later the grand and great-grandchildren aided Dionne in continuing a lifetime focus on elementary education.

Dionne has always had a caring and generous heart; she volunteered her time and energy to many organizations over the years. Some of them included the Soup Kitchen, Legion, VFW, Norfolk Veterans Home, Senior Center, and delivering Meals on Wheels. As a lifetime member of the Catholic Church, she served in many capacities, as a Catholic Daughters member for over 65 years, the Altar Society, donating her homemade wine for church services, helping with the CCD program, funeral committee member (serving as president the last several years). Dionne enjoyed making the world around her a better place for others. She adored her family and supported all their activities and extracurricular interests. This was all done with grace and her infectious humor despite the grief they may or may not have caused her.

Dionne and her husband raised cattle and horses. Though she did not grow up with livestock, it didn’t stop her from being a true sport when it came to working cattle. Dionne and Joel loved family and friend gatherings and enjoyed the outdoors. In the early 90s they purchased ‘The Pines’ resort in Long Pine and later Jeannie’s Café to complement the resort. Depending on the day, Dionne might’ve been head desk clerk, maid, cook, waitress, gardener, laundry attendant, maintenance chief, or simply hauling tubers up and down Pine Creek. 

Dionne is survived by her eight children, Kim (Mike) Karweik of Hopkins MI, Marc Gillespie of New London WI, Diette Glenn and Rod Palmer of Ainsworth, Jeff Gillespie of Norfolk, Kathy (Van) Neidig of Battle Creek, Michaela (Glen) Chelberg of Minneapolis MN, Chad Gillespie of Norfolk, and Amy Gillespie of Minneapolis MN; 15 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; along with nieces and nephews. 

Dionne was preceded in death by her husband, Joel Gillespie; and parents, Richard and Cecelia Winkleman.

Memorials may be directed to the Immaculata Monastery and Spirituality Center or to the family for future designations honoring Dionne’s favorite organizations. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dionne (Winkleman) Gillespie, please visit our floral store.