Sally Dulek

Sally Ann Lindstrom Dulek, age 75, of Northport, AL passed away January 6, 2023 at Hospice of West Alabama. Memorial services will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at St. Francis of Assisi University Parish. Magnolia Chapel North will be directing. Visitation will be one hour prior and immediately following the service in the parish hall.

Sally was preceded in death by her parents and her infant sister, Beth.

Survivors include her husband of 49 years, Ron; her son, Dan (Kate) Dulek of Nashville; her daughter Laura (Robert) Green, of Northport; grandchildren: Luella (14), Timothy (9), Lucas (7), and William (7), and members of the St. Francis Bridge Group.

Sally was born October 7, 1947 in Vermillion, Ohio to Daniel and Mary Ann Lindstrom. The family moved to Gary, Indiana and then to Crown Point, Indiana. Sally graduated from Crown Point High School in 1965 and graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a master’s degree in Library Science in 1974. Sally and Ron met at Purdue and continued to live in West Lafayette while Ron completed his degree. Sally and Ron moved to Tuscaloosa on August 15, 1977.

Sally quickly became engaged in the Tuscaloosa community. Early on, she was an active member of the League of Women Voters and became embedded within the St. Francis community. She was a founding member of the St. Francis Bridge Group, which has remained active for almost 50 years.

Sally loved working with children and took every opportunity she could to share her love of reading, creativity, and art with them. Sally worked for two years at Northport Baptist Pre-School and taught religious education classes at St. Francis for over two decades. She was a dedicated den mother for both Laura’s Girl Scout group and Dan’s Cub Scouts. She volunteered at Vestavia Elementary School and later briefly taught third grade at Holy Spirit Elementary. Sally then became a long-term, beloved librarian at Holy Spirit Elementary School. Throughout this time, she always placed highest priority on raising, guiding, and loving her children, Dan and Laura. Later, despite prolonged health problems, she engaged lovingly with her granddaughter Luella and looked forward to cherished visits from William, Lucas, and Timothy.

Sally and Ron enjoyed traveling, especially with their family. Sally, Ron, Dan and Laura visited 49 of the 50 states, only missing Alaska. Later, after Sally retired from teaching, Sally and Ron began traveling internationally. They visited a variety of European countries as well as China. But their true travel love came to fruition when Lonnie and Kitty Strickland introduced them to South Africa. Soon after this introduction, Ron and Sally purchased a remote bush house in Sabie Park, South Africa and enjoyed visiting the bush yearly. It was here that Sally rekindled her artistic talents to show the spiritual connections evident in Africa and nature.

The family would like to thank the many loyal, dedicated friends who supported Sally during her illness. Special thanks also go to her beloved in-home caregiver of the past two years, Jessica Farr, and to Hospice of West Alabama.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to: United Way of West Alabama, Hospice of West Alabama or St. Francis of Assisi University Parish.