Four generations of family gathered Aug. 18 to celebrate the 100th birthday of longtime Summit resident Angeline “Angie” Saraceno Dames.
Dames was born in Summit to Dominic and Francesca Saraceno at a clinic on 63rd Street. A year later, her brother John was born. The family later lived on 61st Street.
She attended Graves Elementary School and graduated from Argo Community High School in 1943. While in school, she was a member of the National Honor Society, art club and the 1941 Homecoming Court. She also worked as a cashier at the Argo Movie Theater.
After graduation, Dames worked in the mailroom of Corn Products Company. Near the end of World War II, the company named her one of its “Pin Up Girls,” a popular morale campaign at the time.
A lifelong parishioner at St. Blase Catholic Church, she was baptized there and later married Anthony Dames on May 28, 1949. The two met at a dance sponsored by the parish.
The couple raised five sons — John, Greg, Ron, Anthony and Don — and eventually built a mid-century style home near the high school in 1957. Their family grew to include 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Anthony died in 1975.
Angie’s hobbies have included decorating, fashion, art, gardening, cooking, traveling and crocheting with a suburban club.
After 15 years as a homemaker, she returned to Corn Products, working in the clerical division at Moffet Technical Center. She also worked part-time at the former Willowbrook Ballroom in Willow Springs.
With co-workers at Moffet, she formed a “Lunch Bunch” travel group that took trips across the country. She also traveled overseas with family.
Dames lived in Summit until age 96, when she moved in with one of her sons in the western suburbs, where she continues to receive care.