Photo Caption: Lisa Gigliotti, author of “Coraggio! Lessons for Living from an Italian Grandmother Despite Illness, Pain and Loss.”

“Coraggio” or courage has been a core virtue in the life of Lisa Gigliotti, the keynote speaker for the 30th annual Respect Life Dinner. She will share her message of persevering through adversity on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Barracks Cater Inn, 1224 W. Pioneer Parkway, in Peoria.

Proceeds from the dinner, which begins at 6 p.m., will benefit the Family Resources Center in downtown Peoria. The center is a free-loan library and educational outreach of the Diocese of Peoria’s Respect Life Board.

As a young adult, Gigliotti was faced first with rheumatoid arthritis, then myasthenia gravis and finally the deaths of her mother and grandmother in an automobile accident. She had hoped to attend medical school, but was forced to give up that dream.

Using the “coraggio” her grandmother instilled in her, Gigliotti went through nine major surgeries, but still managed to graduate from the University of Detroit Law School in 1993.

She worked for the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service and served as human service policy adviser to the Michigan State Senate before being appointed an administrative law judge for the State of Michigan in 2003. This year Gigliotti was promoted to manager over administrative law judges.

She is the author of “Coraggio! Lessons for Living from an Italian Grandmother Despite Illness, Pain and Loss.” It is the first in a series of “Coraggio!” books and will be available at the Respect Life Dinner.

Tickets are $26 before Sept. 26 and $28 after Sept. 27, if any remain. Checks should be made payable to “Respect Life Dinner Committee” and sent to: Family Resources Center, 321 Main St., Peoria, IL 61602.
For more information, call the Family Resources Center at (309) 637-1713.