I miss Connie very much.   She was a great friend to me and always there to help
My best wishes to the family
Love. Teri

My favorite memories of Connie are our times on the La Jolla Country Club golf course when we played with the Happy Hackers every Thursday.  Connie would say when I would hit a bad shot, “Don’t worry you’ll do well on the next one.”  She was always encouraging and also fun.  Sometimes she’d say, “Well, it can’t get much worse than that”, and we’d both laugh.
I miss her so much, especially on the golf course!

I went onto the SDSU nursing website to order a replacement pin, then began looking on the site. I searched the professors, and remembered Connie Salerno as a stand out professor for Pediatrics.  I am RN class of 1989, so I have been an RN for 35 years! I remember prof Salerno referring to her daughter, MaryAnn all the time.  I never knew much about children when I was in school, because we were from the mid west and had no younger relatives here.  I was only 23 and didn't have kids.  I learned so much from her. She was great, and passionate about her Pediatrics so much so, it made all of us very interested and learning was fun from her.  I am deeply sorry to her family for her passing. It's unreal how fast time goes. My father, now is 88, and I am feeling the aging of both my parents.  My best to her family-Jodi Neuman-Rea

Aunt Connie had an amazing life and I have many fond memories of  playing in her front yard in Kensington with my other cousins.  She would visit the McGuigan family often on Sunday night dinners and attend plays as well as symphonies.  

She was always proud of the accomplishments of all her sisters' children and when out with her, she would often give recognition to whomever was present to praise us in front of the people she introduced us too.

She was accepting of who we are as women and our pursuits in life always saying do your best and be good at it.  

I am grateful to having the opportunity to play golf at the La Jolla Country Club with her and how important it was for us to always get a chocolate chip cookie at the 9 hole snack bar.  She loved desserts and one of her favorites that I would make her was Carrot Cake , which she would say was the best she ever tasted.

I will cherish all the family gatherings, dinners, holiday teas, golfing and even the trips to SDSU where I would wait in her car when she would go to her office to collect some papers; as she would bend the rules a bit and park in spots that required a different permit than the faculty permit.  A little bit of a rule breaker but one that loved her life and expressed confidence in her pursuits.

Auntie Connie and her four sisters - their own childhood stories as well as their passion for their faith, families, and careers - made an indelible impression on me (and likely on all my cousins).  They set high expectations - whether it was intentional or not -and they enjoyed celebrating the successes of our family especially their children and grandchildren (perhaps even embellishing a bit as Irish-Chileans are proud storytellers). Auntie Connie was the medical expert of the family - and I remember that as a kid, she would get consulted first for advice before any doctor appointments were made. She was there to expertly treat my first bee sting when I was really young and she was there to examine and give her thumbs-up to the health of each of my three children when they were babies. I trusted her advice and always admired her commitment to nursing excellence. She loved to watch and talk about football - and would get a twinkle in her eye when we would mention Brett Favre.  She also was an enjoyable theatre partner - we went to several performances at the Old Globe, usually having dinner first (her favorite was the calamari). She always "dressed to the nines" when she would go out which was a little intimidating as I tend to dress at the "comfortable attire 6-7 level". I think given her medical career, she was very observant of appearance details and would share her observations, particularly about a person's smile...almost as if it were her private window into that person's health and life potential. The last time we visited with Connie before she passed away, she made a point to say multiple times that we had beautiful teeth and smiles.  It made me laugh at the time (because it was so Connie), but I now think she was observing and commenting how blessed we are. I was blessed to have her as Aunt Connie - with her own glamorous, warm, and brilliant smile.  

Mary Ann Salerno and I are close friends. Her daughter, Olivia, and my daughter, Nadia, both went to school together at St. Vincent de Paul since preschool. I remember Connie picking up Olivia at school many times.. She was so lovely to talk with, always smiling, polite, and had a calming presence. It was a delight to see her with Olivia and I admired that she was so involved as a grandma. May Connie Rest In Peace with God in Heaven now. Our thoughts, prayers, and love are with her family during this difficult time.

It is now with much sadness I acknowledge the loss of my life friend Connie Dillon
I was a nursing instructor at San Diego State University with Connie as the professor in the pediatric nursing department.  She was my mentor and I was able to attain an associate professor title with her assistance. 
She originated the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program through San Diego State University.    This could only be accomplished with a great amount of time and extraordinary effort on her part.   I was very fortunate to be able to complete this program which greatly influenced  my nursing career 
I so respect all of Connie’s  many educational accomplishments and her volunteer activities in the community.    She was always available to discuss life’s problems and pleasures and always ready to help myself and others.  We also enjoyed time spent at educational classes, plays and sporting events.
I will always miss and love Connie.  I wish to thank her family for my inclusion  in family events over the years and now in saying goodbye to Connie


Connie, one of the most special people in my life, is the definition of a “no-nonsense” coach, mentor and friend.  When we met in the summer of 2002, I was 19, an engineering student at UCSD, and working weekends as a concierge at her home, the La Jolla Seville.  Connie supported me, encouraged me and challenged me to always be stronger, more resilient and more successful.  Her fist was firm.  Quotes such as, “you’ll have time to sleep when you are dead”, I will never forget.  At the same time, her heart was huge.  I may have starved if it wasn’t for Connie’s rush to feed me at any hour while I slaved over my university studies.  Having her sneak sandwiches into the mail room at the Seville dressed only in her night robe and slippers is memory no one could forget.  
Connie’s tenacity about everything was as encouraging as it was frustrating and I know that I owe much of my success to her persistence.  I’d like to say that I challenged her in the same way, especially by way of our dreaded “computer lessons”, but I think those were as much about her mentorship as they were about her technical skills.  The truth is that she had me direct this energy to her three older grandsons, Chris, Mike and Jon, who proved to me that stubbornness can be used for excuses or for the will to succeed.  During our years of math lessons, all three chose the latter and I am very proud of these boys.
Connie and the entire Salerno/Dillon family are very special to me and although we all knew Connie as a hard-charging, alpha lady, who had no qualms about her blunt personality and “matter of fact” speaking, we also know that she played the part of a most respectful, fashionable and caring wife, mother, friend and more.  She wanted nothing but the best for everyone, but knew that each person had to go and get it for themselves.  Thank you for everything Connie. I love you and I will miss you very much.
Love, Jim


My Auntie Connie was always generous to me.  When I was in college, she lent  me one of her cars for a couple of days while mine was being repaired.  As a token of my appreciation, I drove it into an automatic car wash.  In the middle of the cycle the tires started to pull off the tracts and the car rolled into the wall.  She said that the car wash company paid for the damages, but she had to deal with the inconvenience of getting the car repaired.  Instead of showing any kind of frustration, she comforted me because I was mortified that I broke her car.

OBITUARY

Margaret "Connie" Constance Dillon

May 5, 1931 – December 13, 2019

Merkley-Mitchell Mortuary

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