Daughter of prominent civil rights lawyer, Diane Dickerson Montgomery, dies in Chicago

Jet, Oct 21, 1996

Mrs. Diane Dickerson Montgomery, 62, the daughter of prominent civil rights lawyer Earl B. Dickerson, recently died in Chicago at her residence. Mrs. Montgomery, who received her master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago, worked in the city as a psychiatric social worker.

The lifelong Chicagoan was born May 13, 1934, to Earl and Kathryn Kennedy Dickerson. Her father argued a number of significant civil rights cases, including Hansberry vs. Lee, which he took to the U.S. Supreme Court and which was one of the earliest successful efforts to outlaw restrictive racial covenants in real estate transactions.

She is survived by her husband, Charles Howard Montgomery, a retired executive vice president of the First National Bank of Chicago, whom she married on Aug. 30, 1978. Mrs. Montgomery and her husband resided in Chicago and also had homes in Lubec, ME, and Key West, FL.

Mrs. Montgomery is also survived by two sons, Stephen Brown of Oak Park, IL, and Joshua Cohen of Chicago, and their spouses, Dr. Judy Carter Brown and Lisa Allen, and one daughter, Judith Cohen Brown and her husband Ari Brown of Seattle, WA.

She is also survived by a grandson, Nicholas Carter Brown, and a granddaughter, Claire Montgomery.

Mrs. Montgomery had a stepdaughter, Alison Montgomery of Chicago, and a stepson, Douglas Montgomery of Libertyville, IL. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Rodger Wilson.

Mrs. Montgomery was a member of Congregation Rodfei Zedek in Chicago. She was a graduate of Francis Parker School in Chicago, and she received her bachelor's degree from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and her master's from the University of Chicago.

In addition to her work as a psychiatric social worker in the Chicago area, Mrs. Montgomery had also been employed by the First National Bank of Chicago.

A graveside funeral service was held at Wiley Cemetery in Colfax, IL, with Rabbi John G. Spiro officiating. A memorial service was slated to be held later in Chicago.

Contributions in memory of Mrs. Montgomery may be made to Mills College in Oakland, CA.