Visiting Assistant Professor Emerita of Journalism Christie Cirone, passed away on Monday, August 24, 2025.

Devoting her life to visual arts and design, Cirone began studying at Knox College, alternating between studying full time and working, graduating with a bachelor of arts in 1979. After college, she worked as Caterpillar’s art director for their company magazines, marketing, and product design. Cirone found her love of teaching at Illinois Central College in 1987. During her tenure, she completed her master's in fine arts in art and design from the University of Illinois and, eventually, returned to teach as a visiting professor in Knox’s journalism department in 2007.

Cirone held a special love for photography  and was a skilled graphic artist. Her art was displayed in numerous exhibitions during her career across Central Illinois. While she was faculty at Knox, she was commissioned to design the commemorative marker designating the childhood home of artist Dorothea Tanning in Galesburg.

Christie is survived by her immediate family: husband Stephen, daughter Alexandra, and son Zachary (Lizemarie) Cirone. She is also survived by her siblings: Marcia Cox, Roger Ferguson, and Steve Ferguson.She was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy Willadee (Bramlett) and Conley Ferguson, and her sister Deborah Dennis.

Her family notes that contributions in her memory can be made to “the continued educational efforts of the institution she loved,” Knox College.