Class of 1955 and Big Blue Coach, Decatur, July 7, 2022
Dechert served as Coach of the Big Blue Women’s Golf Team for 12 years, starting in 2001 at age 69. During her final season as Coach in 2014, she was named College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Coach of the Year. She was also inducted into the Illinois Women’s Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. During her life, she won a total of 14 women’s golf titles in Decatur tournament competitions. In her career, she worked in the research department at Archer Daniels Midland Co. before retiring in management from Wallace Laboratories. She and her husband, Dick Dechert ’54, were married in 1971.