Kathryn "Jeanine" Congalton

Jeanine Congalton

Of Fullerton, California and formerly Coal City, Illinois, passed away unexpectedly on August 4, 2026, she would have turned 70 on August 23rd.

Raised in Coal City, where she was an honor student, she completed her undergraduate degree at Illinois State and still counted her Redbird friends in her closest circle. Jeanine earned her M.A. at North Dakota State where she briefly taught early in her career before completing her Ph.D. at the University of Utah, where she created her strongest personal and academic relationships.

After three years at California State University-Fresno, Jeanine spent the bulk of her career at California State University, Fullerton, where she became an institution, for many years coaching their successful forensics program. Her forensics service was vast, having served as District/Chair of the American Forensics Association's National Individual Events Tournament, where she was a fixture on the tournament tabulation staff and was bestowed with their Distinguished Service Award in 1997. She was a favorite judge on the National Debate Tournament circuit and coached numerous students to national tournaments. She was an officer in the International Forensics Association for a decade and worked in tabulation rooms at hundreds of forensics contests at all levels.

Jeanine was the unsung hero of the Human Communication Studies department at California State University, Fullerton, serving perpetually on personnel, graduate, and search committees copiously combing through hundreds of files, and meticulously reviewing adjunct and graduate student instructors. Despite all her dedicated service, her clear legacy was her students. She was a devoted teacher, paying special attention to those students with extra challenges, creating in them a sense of self-confidence and success. During the pandemic she would drive to her campus parking lot to connect to university wi-fi, teaching classes from her car. She followed the careers of generations of her students, even if that meant showing up at an 8 a.m. convention panel or drafting volumes of thoughtful letters of recommendation. Many, if not nearly all, institutions in southern California likely have at least one instructor who was trained and mentored by Jeanine. Scores of her students comment that she's the role model for how they conduct their lives, both professionally and personally. Her idea of work/life balance was taking a stack of papers to grade on the grounds of her beloved Disneyland, where she valued and regularly used her annual pass. Jeanine was a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks, and a season ticket holder to CSUF Titan baseball, where her second home was Goodwin Field.

She was a dedicated aunt, attending countless soccer, lacrosse, and baseball games of her nieces and nephews. The U.S. Postal Service has been kept solvent by her mailing greeting cards for every known occasion, always including a dollar bill, to her sphere of friends, mere acquaintances, their families and extended networks. Nearly everyone she met made it into her address book. Jeanine was generous to a fault, always being the first to "treat" whoever she was visiting.

She is survived by her sister, Donna (Roger) Hanley, of Tampa; sister-in-law, Kris DiPaolo, 10 nieces and nephews, numerous great-nieces and nephews and a wide circle of friends who remain in shock at her unanticipated passing.

Jeanine was preceded in death by her parents, Pete and Catherine (Kay) DiPaolo, formerly of Coal City and brother, David, of Corona, CA.

Cremation rites were accorded and a celebration of life was hosted at California State University, Fullerton.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, 215 S. Kankakee Street in Coal City. Rev. Josh Miller will preside and Deacon William Dunn will assist.

Inurnment will follow in Braceville-Gardner Cemetery, where Jeanine will be laid to rest with her parents.

Memorials can be made to the CSU, Fullerton Jeanine Congalton Scholarship which has been established in her honor.

Family and friends are encouraged to log onto www.ReevesFuneral.com to sign the guest book, upload photographs and share Jeanine’s memorial page online through social media.

Local arrangements have been made under the direction and care of Reeves Fruland & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory. (815-634-2125)