March 2014

Donald “Cap” Capitani, 77, of Peru passed away at 7:25 PM Friday at Illinois Valley Community Hospital surrounded by his family.

A memorial mass will be held at 10 AM Saturday at St. Valentines Church in Peru with Rev. William Gardner officiating.  Military rites will be conducted outside the church following the mass.  Interment will be in Oakwood Memorial Park Mausoleum in Ottawa.  There will be no visitation.  The Hurst Funeral Home, LaSalle is in charge of the arrangements.

Donald was born on November 27, 1936 in Ottawa to Daniel & Helen (Mucci) Capitani.  He married the former Carol A. Brady on January 17, 1959 in St. Joseph’s Church in LaSalle.  She survives.

Donald is also survived by a son, Dino Capitani of Hinsdale, IL ; 2 grandchildren:  Anthony and Dena Capitani and a sister, Elaine (James) Swaback of Ottawa.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents and a son David Capitani.

Donald graduated from Marquette High School in Ottawa in 1954.  He then served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict having served 3 years and 2 of those were overseas.

Donald retired from Libby-Owens-Ford in Otttawa.

Donald was a member of the  American Legion and he founded the Support Group for Parkinson’s at St. Margaret’s Hospital in 1995.  Donald did not let anything slow him down and was  inspirational to many people.  Donald enjoyed antiquing, fishing, hunting and his grandchildren.  Donald was  a 20 year survivor of Parkinsons Disease and a 12 year survivor of Cancer.

Cap is laid to rest in the Shrine of Rest Mausoleum, Sanctuary of the Four Seasons.

Glenda J. Hawk, 77, of Belleair, FL died saturaday, March 8. Memorial services will be 11 am March 22 at Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa.  Cremation rites were accorded.

Glenda is laid to rest in the Garden of Psalms.

Zelma LeRoy, 97, of Ottawa died Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at the JSB Retirement Villa in Ottawa. Funeral Services will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa with the Rev. Nancy Rethford, pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services.

Zelma was born on January 2, 1917 in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, to Clarence and Elizabeth (Thompson) Reichenbach. She married Albert Leo LeRoy, on July 28, 1938, in Neosho, Missouri.

She was a member of Epworth United Methodist Church in Ottawa.

Zelma is laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Ronald Simmons, 68, of Naplate, died Saturday night at his home surrounded by his loving family. Memorial Services will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March18, in the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa with the Rev. John Paul Robbins, officiating. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. until the services at 7 p.m.   Burial is in Oakwood MemorialPark, Ottawa IL

Ron was born on January 17, 1946, in Streator to Mildard and Meredith (Rivers) Simmons. He worked as a mechanic for 50 years until his retirement. He attended Ottawa Township High School. He married Donna Reynolds on March 13, 1965, in the parsonage of the First Baptist Church in Ottawa.

Ronald is laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Bruce Stavenhagen, 74, of Ottawa, died early Monday morning, March 17, 2014 at OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 21, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church with Rev. Garry Briesacher, Pastor, officiating. Burial will be at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa.

Mr. Stavenhagen was born on January 18, 1940 in Waterloo, IA to Glenn and Alice (Bott) Stavenhagen. He attended schools in Waterloo and Denison, IA and Monmouth, IL. He graduated from Monmouth High School in 1958 and from Monmouth College in 1962, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He married his high school sweetheart, Betty McConnell, on June 12, 1960 at the First Lutheran Church in Monmouth.

Upon graduating from Monmouth College, he moved to Ottawa where he worked at Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company in several supervisory positions. After retiring from Libbey-Owens-Ford, he began a second career as a teacher/tutor of G.E.D. students and adult literacy for Illinois Valley Community College. He loved to see people get a second chance in education and was very proud of them when they received their G.E.D. diplomas. He called them all “winners” and worked to instill a positive attitude in all of them.

He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottawa where he served on the council, property committee and the mission team. He was passionate about mission work and worked with several organizations doing volunteer work. He was a member of Men in Mission which meets every month at Immanuel Lutheran Church on County Line Road. It consists of men from six Lutheran churches and other denominations as well. He derived a lot of inspiration and fellowship from this organization.

One of his favorite missions was Kogudus Renewal Ministry. He served on many teams at the Illinois retreat center and in several prisons in the state. Two of his more memorable retreats were in Estonia, Europe, the birthplace of the founder of Kogudus, Pastor Olaf Magis.

Betty and he loved to travel, having been in many American states, Mexico, Canada, Europe and South America. They loved to visit with the older population in these lands. They thought they learned more about the history from the people who lived it.

Bruce’s hobbies included amateur photography, wood working, metal working and watching nature in his backyard, with daily visitations of deer, birds, squirrels, ground hogs and his confrontations with ground squirrels, raccoons and opossums.

One of his favorite sayings was “Hey, It could Happen.” He kept this in mind as he said it often as he cheered for the Cubs. He loved the Bears, Blackhawks, Cubs and the Iowa Hawkeyes. He lived with cancer for more time than his doctors thought. He was convinced that he survived so long because God still had work for him to do and his positive mental attitude. Another quote you have heard him say was, “If we can’t have fun doing it, then let’s not do it.”

Bruce is laid to rest in the Garden of Psalms.

Richard Woods, 70, of Utica, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Funeral Ceremony will be held at 2:00 pm Friday, March 7, 2014 at Ottawa Funeral Home with Rev. Burl Cole officiating. Visitation will be 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm at Ottawa Funeral Home. Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park with military honors.

Richard was born November 10, 1943 in Ottawa, Illinois to Melvin and Deretha (Armstrong) Woods. He married Shirley Woods; she passed away August 18, 2010.

Richard is laid to rest in the Garden of Hymns.

Marylynne Orr, 89, of Ottawa, passed away Monday, March 3, 2014 at Ottawa Pavilion.

Funeral services will be 10:00 am on Friday March 7, 2014 at Ottawa Funeral Home with the Rev. Duane Kaufman officiating. Visitation will be 4:00 to 8:00 on Thursday, March 6, 2014 at the Ottawa Funeral Home. Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park.

Marylynne was born December 12, 1924 in Durand, Illinois to John and Frances (Boomer) Haraldson. She married LaVerne “Jake” Orr on May 9, 1943; he preceded her in death April 18, 1973.

Marylynne was a registered nurse. She retired from Ottawa Community Hospital and had worked at the Ottawa General Hospital. She was an excellent nurse and caregiver. She was a member of the Ottawa Garden Club, Sons of Norway, and the American Legion Aux. She was a devoted mother and grandmother and a joy to all who knew her.

Marylynne is survived by two daughters, Karen (Dale) Fogle of St. Louis, Mo., and Lindsay (Denny) Walsh of Overland Park, KS; four sons, James (Claire) Orr, Timothy (Carrie) Orr, Rob (Vicky) Orr, and John Orr all of Ottawa; ten grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren; two sisters, Margery Neuhaus of Sunnyvale, CA and Barbara Cunningham of Ottawa.

Marylynne is laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Vernon “Pete” Bayer, 94, of Utica, passed away, Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at La Salle County Nursing Home, Naplate.

Funeral Service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, March 8, 2014 at the Mueller Funeral Home, Ottawa with Sally Ott, officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa, with full military honors conducted by the American Legion Post 33. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to time of service at the funeral home.

Mr. Bayer was born August 3, 1919 in Ottawa to Peter and Ruth (Ovelman) Bayer. He married Jane Fitzpatrick in Davenport, IA on June 30, 1940. She passed away October 10, 1992. He served in the United Sates Army during WWII stationed in Germany. He worked as a mechanic for the State of Illinois for his whole life. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, Ottawa, NRA and the American Legion.

He is survived by his son, Larry (Diane) Bayer of Ottawa and a daughter, Linda (Jonathan) Osthus of Utica; 4 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren; 4 brothers, Donald Armstrong of Ottawa, Oliver (Lin) Carr of Earlville, Raymond “Bob” (Doris) Carr of Ottawa and Jack Carr of Ottawa; 3 sisters Ruth Meta Moore of DeKalb, Patricia Wagner of Ottawa and Judy Green of Oglesby.

Pete is laid to rest in the Garden of Prayer.

Everett Myer, 87, of Wallace Township, died Friday morning, February 28, 2014 at Pleasant View.

Funeral services will be at 11 am on Monday March 3, at Mueller Funeral Home, with Rev. Wesley Waddle, Pastor of First Baptist Church in LaSalle, officiating . Burial will be at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the funeral home.

Everett was born on July 9, 1926 in Wallace Township to Herbert and Margaret (Hileman) Myer. He and his brother Maynard owned and operated Myer Bothers, Inc. He was an Army Veteran of the Korean War. He married Phyllis E. Boyd on November 16, 1958 in Grand Ridge. He was a member and former deacon of the First Baptist Church in LaSalle. He was active in the Trucker’s Ministry in Peru.

He is survived by his wife Phyllis, a daughter, Debbie (Mike) McDonald, of Ottawa, 3 grandchildren Michael, Kristin and Michelle McDonald and one great granddaughter Mikala McDonald 3 brothers Floyd Myer of Iowa, Maynard (Jean) Myer of Marseilles and Dale (Norma) Myer of Ottawa, 2 sisters Mildred King and Mae Thompson both of Lakeland Fla.

He was preceded in death by 4 brothers Herbert, Harold, Howard and Lloyd and a sister Dorothy Sass.

Everett is laid to rest in the Garden of Prayer.

Shirley E. Myers, 86, of Ottawa passed away Sunday, February 16, 2014 at OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 1:30pm Friday, February 21, 2014 at St. Patrick’s Church with Rev. Mike Adrie officiating. Her visitation will be 10:00 – 1:00pm Friday, February 21, 2014 at Ottawa Funeral Home with prayers at 10:00 with The Catholic Daughters of America. A private burial will be held at a later date at Oakwood Memorial Park.

Shirley was born April 6, 1927 in River Forest, Illinois to Walter and Helen (Steffens) Gray. She married Walter H. Myers December 30, 1945. She assisted her husband in managing the JFK Union Center from 1955 – 1974 in Ottawa. They then retired and moved to Holland, Michigan where she managed the food service program for the Saugatuck/Douglas public schools. In 1989 she and her husband moved back to Ottawa where she was employed as the cook and housekeeper for the Third District Appellate Court. She was a member of St. Patrick’s Church and The Catholic Daughters of America.

She is survived by two sons, Richard (Judy) of Ottawa and Robert (Cheri) of Mosinee, WI.; a daughter-in-law, Monica Koepsell of Door County, WI.; six grandchildren, Jacki Weber of Roscoe, Stacey (John) McGuffin of Milpitas, CA., Ryan (Lisa) Myers of Ottawa, Jenny (Aaron) Rios of Ottawa, Grant (Jameli) Myers of Lynchburg, VA., Nathan (Holly) Myers of Leesburg, VA.; and nine great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Walter; and her son Jack.

Shirley is laid to rest in the Garden of Hymns.