Deacon Dale and Ruth Dillon retire

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Ruth Dillon exchanges high fives with Bishop Oscar A. Solis as her husband, Deacon Dale Dillon, looks on during the retirement lunch.

SALT LAKE CITY — Two longtime employees of the Diocese of Salt Lake City were honored at a Jan. 19 retirement luncheon at the Pastoral Center. Ruth Dillon worked for the diocese for more than 19 years before retiring on Dec. 31. She first served in the Diocesan Development Drive Office for a year before becoming the manager for the Office of Liturgy. In 2011 she took over as director of the Office of Worship; to help with that ministry she completed a master’s degree in pastoral ministry with concentration in liturgy in 2018.  

Her husband, Deacon Dale Dillon, worked part-time in the Office of the Diaconate for close to five years after 30 years in the state auditor’s office as director of information systems audit. He retired in September.

At the luncheon, Vicar General Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw and others praised the contributions of the couple to the diocese and its mission.

“I found Ruth just the perfect personality” for the Office of Worship, Msgr. Bircumshaw said. “In those days, books were being rewritten by the bishops’ committees and all those things have to be implemented and you have to find a medium in between being a liturgical policeman and a laissez-faire to do whatever you decide to do. Ruth knew which battles to fight and which ones just to let go. [She is] a woman of great wisdom.”

Others praised Dillon for the many hours she spent in the ministry and on the road to ensure the parishes received liturgical support.

“You’ve covered a lot of ground over the years to enlighten our diocese, our pastors and parishes about the history of the Church, the beauty of the liturgy and the treasures of the sacraments,” said Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, the diocesan vicar for clergy.

He also recounted the story of a bishop asking for a copy of a homily he had given; Fr. Vialpando was overjoyed until he realized the bishop was mistaken: It was Deacon Dillon who had given the homily.

“If you never give another homily for the rest of your life – and I’m sure you’re going to give 1,000 more before you pass away – know that you have finally arrived if a bishop can ask you to give him a copy of your homily,” Fr. Vialpando told Deacon Dillon. “This event that I just brought to light is nothing less than a testament to the fact that your years as a deacon within the diocese and in the Office of the Diaconate have proven to us that you are an excellent preacher, teacher, catechist, spiritual director and guide.”

Deacon Scott Dodge, who has led the Office of the Diaconate since 2018, relied heavily on the advice and wisdom of Deacon Dillon, he said. “Dale usually makes the right decision, and even when it comes to the difficult things, he does it with a very light touch.”

Those who spoke also praised the Dillons for their commitment as a couple to building up the Church in Utah together.

“It’s not too often that we see a husband and a wife who work in communion, in unison, or in tandem within the Church, the parish and the Pastoral Center as well as you have over the years,” Fr. Vialpando said. “Married couples like you are hard to find, and therefore it’s obvious that when you stood at the altar, pledging your love to God and to each other, that you took those vows seriously and didn’t ride off into the sunset on a white stallion, but that you rolled up your sleeves and went to work for the Church, through the Church, with the Church and in the Church.”

At the end of the luncheon, Bishop Oscar A. Solis thanked the Dillons for their contributions.

“I could not help but express my deepest sentiment, the deepest gratitude I could ever extend to this wonderful couple for their tremendous ministry in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, especially for me personally,” he said.

The Dillons plan to continue their volunteer ministries in the Church. Ruth Dillon is the choir director at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Sandy, while Deacon Dillon serves in pastoral ministry at St. John the Baptist Parish in Draper.

The Dillons, who have one son, Michael, who lives in California, are planning a trip to the Oregon Coast in April. Other than that, in retirement they are enjoying their time together and the casual structure of their days, they said.