Dimple Sue Aaron, 78, of Carmi, Illinois passed away on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Wabash General Hospital.
She was born on August 2, 1947, in Monroe County, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Huey Cord and Ellr Margaret (Harvey) Wilborn.
Dimple worked as an adjustment investigator for insurance and was a member of Antioch Church of Christ in Monroe County, Tennessee.
Every long life is a book filled with happy and sad events, reoccurring characters and bit players. Dimple had such a life – one deserving of a book, and those who knew her well, or only briefly, have memories of joy, laughter, and a few tears along the way.
Dimple’s book began during a thunderstorm on August 2, 1947, in Monroe County, Tennessee. She was the ninth child of Huey Cord and Ellr Margarete (Harvey) Wilborn. Her parents, battling storms of their own, would divorce when Dimple was five. Ellr moved with her youngest children to Crossville, Illinois. Though Dimple would get to know her father later in life, she grew up without him and with firm and guiding hand of a loving mother.
Years after leaving Crossville, Dimple was hard pressed to recall happy memories from her formative years. What she remembered were the school yard taunts, leaving her with the sense and feeling of being a “scrawny ugly duckling.” By the time she left high school in her wake she had transformed into a beautiful, graceful swan. That was when she married her second love, Kenny Aaron. It was a short-lived marriage, and in her own words, “a mistake never to be repeated.” To which she often added, “no man will ever tell me what to do.”
After Dimple flew the coop of home, marriage, and Crossville she landed an office job at Horace Mann Insurance in Springfield. It was at Horace Mann that Dimple would form a lifelong bond of friendship with Cindy Young. Dimple continued in the insurance industry throughout her working years, lastly as a claims adjuster and fraud investigator.
She was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, frequently enjoying accounts of historical figures and events. Her music was country – all the way. Johnny Cash and the Carter Sisters were among her favorite singers. In her prime Dimple rode a bike, a Harley to be exact, and riding without a helmet she was a real sight with long blonde hair flowing behind her. It was no surprise that in 1980 she rode for a weeklong stay in
Sturgis; always following the wind and the road wherever they led. The wind and roads led to living alongside her eldest brother, Louie, after his wife had passed and was retired. They returned to Monroe County and lived on the farm they had both known as children; frequently, in order to be near Louie’s youngest, Jeff, spending months at a time in Carolina Beach, NC. During those years in Tennessee and North Carolina, Dimple said she was truly happy. She got to know and love her oldest brother, nephew and his wife, Mary. Dimple missed Louie deeply when he passed, and she had a feeling of being adrift. It was then that she returned to White County, Illinois, first living in Crossville, then as of late in Carmi.
True to her words, Dimple, with a big personality, a hearty laugh, wit, charm, intelligence, and beauty lived a life on her terms, mastering it and men often with ease, and sometimes not so easily. She loved us all and those who knew and loved her will miss her dearly and deeply.
Surviving siblings; Ruby, Sue, Patsy & Wayne. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews: Elizabeth Richardson, Kenny Wilborn, Jeff Wilborn, Shirley Wilborn, Deanna Manes, Tina Long, Martha Long, Bruce Wilborn, and Brian Moore.
Dimple was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Louie Wilborn, Lois Wilborn, Lloyd Wilborn, Pauline Smith, Daniel Wilborn, Ruth Leahy, Cordia Jean Long, Joyce Bridgeman, and Joe Wilborn.
A celebration of life will be held for Dimple Sue at a later date.
Condolences may be made online at www.short-cunninghamfh.com.
Short-Cunningham Funeral Home is honored to serve the Aaron family.
