Ildikó dePapp Carrington

December 6, 1929 – June 13, 2023

Ildikó Emmy dePapp Carrington, 93, passed away on June 13, 2023, in DeKalb, Illinois after a short illness. She was a teacher for her entire adult life, and will be remembered for being generous with her time and knowledge.

Ildikó was born December 6, 1929, in Windsor, Ontario to Hungarian immigrants, John and Emmy (Birgling) dePapp. Hungarian was her first language, and she did not learn to speak English until she was 7. She was raised in Buffalo, New York. Ildikó attended Wellesley College, where she earned her BA in 1951. She went on to earn an MA from Harvard University in 1952. While at Harvard she met her future husband, George Cabell Carrington, Jr., for the first time. Later they reconnected at Ohio State University and married in 1954.

Ildikó was an English instructor for most of her professional life. Her first jobs were at Valparaiso University in Indiana, Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. In 1966, she and her husband went to Iran as part of the Fulbright Scholar Program, and she taught English at the National University of Iran-Tehran. In 1967, she and her family moved to DeKalb where her husband was hired as an English professor at Northern Illinois University. She worked as an English instructor at NIU for 44 years, retiring in 2011.

After retiring from NIU, Ildikó continued to work as an editor with NIU graduate students and professors, helping them to write graduate theses, scholarly articles, and books.

Ildikó was a recognized literary critic, publishing 10 scholarly articles and two books on Canadian fiction. She also co-authored a book on the American author William Dean Howells with her husband. She wrote fiction as well, and received the Award for Outstanding Short Fiction from the Illinois Arts Council in 1973, and was the winner of the 1979 Novella Contest at Sou'wester Magazine.

Ildikó enjoyed traveling, and went to many countries with her husband and son, including traveling across Europe to Iran in 1966. She visited Greece several times with her husband and enjoyed researching the different ruins and sites before she visited.

Ildikó is predeceased by her husband George (1991) and her parents. She is survived by her loving family: her son, John Carrington and his wife Lucia Carrington; her granddaughter Megan Carrington; and her granddaughter Jennifer Carrington Fitch and her husband Lincoln Fitch. She had three great-granddaughters whom she was fortunate enough to meet: twins Lydia Ildikó and Hannah, and their sister Lillian. She is also survived by her three siblings: Zsolt dePapp, Emoke dePapp Severo, and Evie dePapp Keberle.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the NIU Foundation (foundation.myniu.com) in Ildikó's name. Cremation arrangements were entrusted to: Finch Funeral Home 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL, 60115, (815) 758-3841.