A renowned and much-loved pastor at several area Pentecostal churches, the Rev. Kenneth Dignan, had a passion for helping people through physical, emotional and spiritual hurt.
When he was 14 months old, Dignan contracted polio and, as a result, suffered from severe scoliosis and other physical disabilities that left him unable to walk on his own. But none of those issues kept him from doing the things he loved to do, according to his family.
“He was stuck in a handicapped body, but his emotional spirit and soul was totally unhandicapped,” his wife Joni said.
He saw his disabilities as a plus.
“He never even thought that the physical challenges he had would ever stop him from doing anything,” said his oldest son, Andrew. “To be honest, he looked at his physical issues as a blessing. It allowed him to identify with people who are struggling, relate to them and help them.”
Dignan, 64, died Wednesday at Palos Community Hospital from complications of pneumonia and compromised lungs due to the polio, his wife said.
Dignan was a former pastor of Eagle Rock Community Church, which first met in the Orland Junior High gym in the 1990s. The congregation eventually built Eagle Rock Community Church in Homer Glen, where he served as the pastor of teaching and preaching, small groups, the men’s ministry and congregational life, as well as the senior pastor and support pastor. He stepped down in 2011.
“He had more charisma than anyone I ever met in my life,” said fellow church member and friend Mark Vaccaro. “He would light up a room. He had a lot to say, and he was always quick with the one-liners. He was a very, very wise man.”
And despite his disabilities, sports was a huge part of his life. He coached each of his three sons’ baseball and basketball teams from his wheelchair.
“He would have been a professional football player if he could,” said his wife. “Sports were a huge part of his life, and coaching the boys’ teams was his way of participating.”
Born in Chicago into an Irish Catholic family and raised in Mount Greenwood, Dignan was the oldest of nine children. He attended St. Christiana Catholic Grade School, graduated from Spalding High School and then attended Moraine Valley Community College. He played drums in a band and traveled to Colorado where he developed “a hippie” lifestyle, his family said.
Searching for a deeper life, he became a born-again Christian. He attended North Central College in Minneapolis where he met his future wife. In 1974, he graduated and immediately went onto the Assembly of God graduate school in Springfield where he earned his master’s degree.
The couple married in 1976.
While working in the sales office of the family’s construction business, Dignan also served as youth pastor and Christian education director at Maranatha Chapel in Evergreen Park.
“He was a true and dynamic follower of Jesus Christ,” said Steve Warner, who was the first to hire him at Maranatha Chapel. “He was a man who made more of his abilities than any man I have ever known. He had every reason not to. But he had this can-do attitude. He embodied all the characteristics of a person who goes the extra mile. He went above and beyond in every sense.”
Dignan then went on to serve as the youth pastor and assistant pastor at First Assembly of God in Jerseyville, near St. Louis, and then the senior pastor of Living Water Community Church in Bolingbrook. During the 10 years he served there, the church had two building programs due to its growth.
In 1991, he founded ‘Til Healing Comes Ministries and spoke in more than 100 churches. He became the senior assistant pastor in 1994 of The Stone Church in Palos Heights before he joined Eagle Rock Christian Church.
A defining moment in the lives of the Dignan family occurred when their son, Ryan, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, committed suicide in 2002. Dignan and his wife started a support group, SOS (Survivors of Suicide). He also went on to write three books, “Make Sense of a Suffering World,” “Ryan’s Story” and “Till Healing Comes.”
Dignan was involved with Christian television since 1976 and became the co-host of “Living Stones,” a weekly 30-minute Bible teaching and interview program along with the Rev. Phil Epperson. In 1997, he branched out and became the host and executive producer of “Ken Dignan, From the Heart.” He hosted and produced more than 100 weekly 30-minute TV programs.
More Top Picks Best Fireplace Tv Mounts
“His limitations defined who he was, but he had strength and became a minister, a counselor, a teacher and decided that life was not going to defeat him. He knew that God was the answer to everyone’s problems and he would do anything to help people realize that,” his wife said.
A sister, Jean, died when she was 17.
Other survivors include sons Patrick and Britt; mother, Rosemary Dignan; brothers, Steven, Raymond, Don, Leo and Marty; sisters Rosemary Fahlen and Julie Richert; and four grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at Parkview Christian Church (formerly Eagle Rock Christian Church), 14367 W. 159th Street, Homer Glen and from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, followed by an 11 a.m. service.
Patricia Trebe is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.