Dianne Masters founded the Crisis Center for South Suburbia four decades ago by establishing a hotline in her kitchen for women who were involved in violent domestic situations.
“She used to do it out of her house, making calls, finding someplace for the women to stay,” said her brother, Randall Turner.
At the same time, she was being abused by her husband, Turner said.
In 1982, three years after the center was incorporated, Dianne Masters was murdered by her husband, Alan Masters.
But the organization she started in her kitchen has grown. To continue her work and to honor her memory, the center is hosting the ninth annual Dianne Masters Cup Charity Golf Outing on Aug. 8.
The Tinley Park-based non-profit now assists more than 2,000 victims of domestic violence each year, according to a center statement. The golf outing is one of its key fundraisers, Turner said.
The outing will be on the north course at Silver Lake Country Club, 14700 S. 82nd Ave., Orland Park. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided by the Candos Agency, a Farmer’s Insurance company.
An estimated 175 people are expected to participate in the 18-hole outing, and tickets have sold out the past three years, Turner said. Popular contests, including the ball launcher, return, as well as new contests, make the day more fun, according to event organizers.
New this year is a 9-hole option on Silver Lake’s Rolling Hills course. There is a 12:30 p.m. start, with trivia and contests on the course,
Golfers are invited to attend a cocktail and dinner reception afterward.
“The DMC charity golf outing has grown significantly over the past eight years and it’s a wonderful tribute to our founder, Dianne Masters,” according to a statement from the center’s Executive Director Pam Kostecki. “Dianne would have turned 71 years old this year and we feel that she would be proud to see the community coming together to support the Crisis Center for South Suburbia to help victims of domestic violence.”
Participation costs $150 to golf 18 holes, and $100 for 9 holes, and both options include dinner. Non-golfers can purchase a dinner-only ticket for $50.
In 1989, a federal jury convicted Dianne Masters’ husband, Alan Masters, along with Cook County sheriff’s Lt. James Keating and Willow Springs police Chief Michael Corbitt of conspiring to kill Masters, according to earlier Tribune reports. A federal appeals court described the three as a “miniature suburban Mafia.” The story of her death became a television mini-series, “Deadly Matrimony,” that aired in 1992.
More information on the Crisis Center and the outing, as well as information on how to sponsor a hole or to register is at http://www.crisisctr.org.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
