Dr. Maribeth Montgomery Kasik

Dr. Maribeth Montgomery Kasik passed away on November 19, 2025, at the age of 73. Beloved mother of Jamie (Robert) Wasowski. Proud grandmother of Alexandra, Elise, and Liliana Wasowski. Dear daughter of the late Leland and Esther (née McCambridge). Loving sister of Thomas (Shirley) Montgomery, Lynn (the late Margaret) Montgomery, and Lizabeth (Laura) Montgomery. Fond aunt of Grace Montgomery.

Dr. Kasik was a retired Full Professor and former Coordinator of Special Education, a role in which she oversaw the Special Education offerings in the Multicategorical Special Education M.A. program that she developed. During her more than 30 years at Governors State University, she built a well-documented record of dedicated teaching, service, and research. She was a strong believer in empowering individuals to reach their greatest potential.

Many of her students benefited from her instruction, as well as from her presentations at state and national professional conferences and her international presentations and publications. She also served as UPI President and as Chair of the Department of Education.

Before joining GSU, Dr. Kasik taught at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where she served as faculty for programs in School Psychology, School Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Special Education. Prior to her work in higher education, she taught Special Education for ten years in South Holland, Illinois, and throughout Southern Illinois.

Dr. Kasik was a proud 1969 alumna of Morgan Park High School (EMPHEI) and remained an active member of her class, helping to plan and coordinate reunions for many years. She earned her B.S. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1973, her M.Ed. from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1978, and her Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1983, with concentrations in Special Education, Higher Education Administration, and Cognitive Psychology.

Her great passion outside of her professional life was genealogy. She served as the family genealogist, documenting burial sites, tracing family trees, and connecting relatives across generations. She was deeply proud of her heritage and was a member of the Illinois St. Andrew Society, Clan Montgomery, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was also a devoted leader in her church, Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, where she grew up singing in the Carol Choir. As an adult, she sang in the Chancel Choir and served for many years as the children’s choir director. She was an Ordained Elder, a Commissioner to the General Assembly of the PCUSA, and for nine years served as the Moderator of Business Affairs for the Presbytery of Chicago.

For all of her many accomplishments, she regarded her greatest achievement as raising her daughter—a task she undertook largely on her own, supported by the steady and loving presence of her parents. She held a deep love for her family and for the pets who were part of her life.

A visitation for Maribeth will be held at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 West 103rd Street, Oak Lawn, IL, on November 26, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Private interment for the family will take place at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Mt. Auburn, Illinois. A memorial service is scheduled for December 20, 2025, at 1:00 PM at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, 2017 W 110th Pl. Chicago, IL 60643.