Monthly Archives

April 2018

Roger Gebhardt, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Roger Gebhardt, 88, of Ottawa, died on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at Pleasant View. Funeral services will be held at 12 noon on Monday, April 30, 2018 at the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa with Rev. David E. Daniel, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park, where full military rites will be conducted by the American Legion Post 33 Veteran’s Group Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday, at the funeral home.

Roger was born on April 11, 1930, in Ottawa to William C. and Wreatha (Ball) Gebhardt. He married Norma J. Beguin on February 26, 1952 in Jeffersonville, IN. She died on April 3, 1999. Roger was a veteran of the US Army and served from 1948-1952 in Korea, Guam, and Japan. He was a welder for Caterpillar in Aurora for 30 years. Roger was a member of the Zion Lutheran Church, UAW and the American Legion. He loved going to auctions with his wife, cutting the grass with his John Deere, spending time with his family, especially his Sunday night visits with his granddaughter Carrie Jean, eating desserts, and watching Hee Haw Wrestling, the WWE and RFD TV.

He is survived by 3 children, Greg (Linda) Gebhardt, of Marseilles, Gay Anne (Tim) Hogan, of Ottawa, and Glenda (Carl) Eickleberry, of South Bend, IN, 9 grandchildren, 4 step grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, one great-great grandson, 2 sisters, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Norma, a son Gary, a daughter Gail, a granddaughter Jennifer, 2 grandsons, Gary Jr. and one in infancy, and 2 brothers, Bill and Howard.

Pallbearers will be his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Memorials may be directed to Pleasant View Resident Fund or the donor’s choice.

Roger has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Donald Reynolds, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Donald Reynolds, 81, of Ottawa, died on Saturday evening, April 21, at Parker Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Streator. Funeral services will be at 11a.m. on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at the Mueller Funeral home in Ottawa with Rev. Paul Robinson, Pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Ottawa, officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home.

Don was born on March 17, 1937 in Ottawa to Charles O. and Edna (Beguin) Reynolds, Sr.  He was a sanitation worker for Russell Mathias Sanitation for 27 years.

He is survived by, 4 brothers:  Roy (Ann), Vernon (Judy), and Raymond (Sharon) Reynolds, all of Ottawa, and Terry (Rhonda) Reynolds of Cambridge, IL, and 2 sisters Birdie (Jerry) Goodchild of Ottawa and Donna Simmons, of Naplate.

He was preceded in death by his parents,  three sisters: Vera Reynolds, Phyllis Caffee,  and Marilyn Rick; seven brothers, Charles Orville, Jr.,  Dawson, Eugene, Dewey, Dale, Robert and Frederick Reynolds.

Memorials may be directed the family. Pallbearers will be nephews.

Don has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Dorothy E. Nelson, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Dorothy E. Nelson, 81, of Marseilles, passed away Thursday, April 19, 2018 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Funeral Services will be held at 11 am, Tuesday, April 24 at Ottawa Funeral Home with Rev. John Waugh officiating. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 am, prior to the services, at the funeral home.  Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park.

Dorothy was born July 27, 1936 in Ottawa to Raymond and Josephine (Telfer) Brown. She married Delbert Nelson on August 8, 1954 at the First United Methodist Church in Ottawa.

Dorothy loved cooking and baking, especially kringla, “appie pie”, and her famous blueberry pies. She was an avid reader and enjoyed yard sales, going to the gambling boat, crossword puzzles, and planting flowers. She looked forward to Delbert cheating at gin rummy over coffee every morning. Dorothy loved spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as the St. Patrick’s School Lunch Bunch.

She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Delbert; four daughters, Rebecca “Becky” (Steve) Smith of Marseilles, Lori (Sonny) Preci of Naplate, Dorothy Peterson of Marseilles, and Doreen Nelson of Ottawa; six grandchildren, Steven (Mary St. Aubin) Smith, Jennifer (Allan) Green, Emily (Caleb) Gander, Ashley Peterson, Jeremy (Holly Smith) Nelson, and Adam (Allie Galeucia) Nelson; and six great-grandchildren, Lilly, Grace, Xavier, Oakley, Liam Swen, and a grandson due in August.

She was preceded in death by her son, Delbert Swen Nelson; one granddaughter, Sarah Smith; and two sisters, Mary Telfer and Bertha Brewer.

Pallbearers will be her grandkids, Jennifer, Jeremy, Steven, Adam, Emily, Ashley, and Caleb, and Alex Villanueva. Honorary Pallbearers will be her great-grandkids, Grace, Xavier, Liam, Oakley, and Lilly.

Memorials may be directed to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Dorothy has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Ten Commandments.

Jean Elizabeth (Gretencord) Roth, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Jean Elizabeth (Gretencord) Roth, 83, of Peru, passed away Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at Manor Court in Peru surrounded by her family. A memorial Mass will be 10 a.m. Monday January 29, 2018 at St. Joseph’s Church in Peru with Rev. Jacob Rose pastor officiating.  Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa at a later date.  Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mueller Funeral Home in Peru.

Mrs. Roth was born on November 12, 1934 in Ottawa to Edward and Helen (Wiesbrock) Gretencord.  She married William Roth on June 15, 1957 at St. Columba Church in Ottawa.  Jean retired from K-Mart in Peru and Vlastnik’s Menswear in Peru after more than 30 years of service.  She was a member of St. Joseph’s Church in Peru. Jean enjoyed cooking, gardening, refurnishing furniture, cross word puzzles, reading and most of all spending time with her children, grandchildren and friends.

She is survived by her husband, William of Peru; her six children, Michael Roth of Benton, KY, Thomas (Lisa) Roth of Dalzell, Joseph (Teri) Roth of Berwyn, Juli (Rich) Preston of Johnsburg, Stephan Roth of Springfield and Susan (Jeff) Atilano of Peru; 13 grandchildren, Dane, Jamie, James, Veronica, Ian, Jonathan, Michael, Nicholas, Elizabeth, Sophia, Abby, Ryan and Logan; five great-grandchildren; one sister, Mary Ann Hardy of Mesa, AZ and one brother, Bill Gretencord of Ottawa.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the American Diabetes Association.

Jean has been laid to rest in the Garden of Psalms.

Barbara Ann Cottingham, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Barbara Ann Cottingham, age 83, of Ottawa , passed away Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 6:00 p.m. Monday, April 16, 2018 at Gladfelter Funeral Home.  Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be at a later date in Oakwood Memorial Park.

Barbara was born August 23, 1934 in Bakersfield, CA, the daughter of Harvey and Ruby (Gammon) Hoeft.  She married Roger Cottingham July 12, 1952 at Zion Lutheran Church in Ottawa.  He preceded her in death March 12, 2018.  Barbara is survived by her daughters, Laura Cottingham (Jerry) Bickett and Teresa Cottingham, all of Ottawa; her grandchildren, Chad and Joshua Ginter, Marisa Bickett, and Jasmine and Sierra Scott; four great grandchildren, Ava and Aria Rosenstiel and Malik and Maleah Turner; two brothers, Darell Hoeft of Myrtle Beach, SC and Ron Mueller of Diamond, IL; and a sister, Pearl Donnelly of Peru.  She was preceded in death by her parents; and one great grandson, RJ Fisher.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family.

Barbara has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Ten Commandments.

Cheri D. Sandberg, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Cheri D. Sandberg, 75, of Ottawa passed away Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at OSF St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 Monday, April 16, 2018 at Pleasant View Lutheran Home with Rev. David E. Daniel officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00 – 11:00, one hour prior to services, on Monday at Pleasant View Lutheran Home. Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park.

Cheri was born August 24, 1942 in Elgin, Illinois to John and Beatrice (Faber) Massa. She married Richard L. Sandberg on June 22, 1974 in Elgin, IL. He died August 2, 1999.

She was a member of Pet Projects, Zion Lutheran Church, and Elgin and Kane Co. Genealogy Societies.

She is survived by her daughter, Meegan Sandberg, a step-daughter, Susan Sipula, two step-sons, William Sandberg and Steven Sandberg; three granddaughters; four great grandchildren; and her brother, John Massa.

She is preceded in death by her parents; and her husband.

Memorials may be directed to Pet Projects or Zion Lutheran Church.

Cheri has been laid to rest in the Garden of Prayer.

Dorothy M. Grennan, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Dorothy M. Grennan 88 of Ottawa passed away Tuesday April 10 at 6:02PM at Ottawa
Pavilion. A funeral mass will be Monday April 16 at 10:00AM
St. Mary’s Church in Utica. Reverend Michael Driscoll and Monsignor James Swaner will
officiate. Burial will follow in Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa. Visitation will be Sunday April 15 from 5 to 8 in the Burgess Funeral Home in Utica. A rosary will be recited at 7:30PM Additional visitation will be in the church Monday from 9 AM until the time of services.

She was born on January 21, 1930 in Chicago to Everett and Margaret (Scheiding) Johnston.

She married Joseph W. Grennan on September 15, 1951 in St. Columba Church in Ottawa.

She was a homemaker.

She belonged to St. Mary’s Church in Utica. She was a member of St. Mary’s Altar and

Rosary Society. For many years she was a member of St. Mary’s Ravioli Group.

She is survived by:
1 Son: Joseph (Mary Ellen) Grennan of Ottawa
1 Daughter: Wendy (Joseph) Wallace of Ottawa.
6 Grandchildren, 12 Great Grandchildren
1 Sister: Marilyn (Ben) Seibert of Granville
1 Brother: Kenneth (Gwen) Johnston of Streator

She was preceded in death by:
her husband (1992) 1 brother.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.burgessfh.com

Dorothy has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Jean Doris (Armstrong) Kosnick, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Jean Doris (Armstrong) Kosnick of Ottawa joined the Lord on April 8, 2018 after a long, weary struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Visitation will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church on Wednesday, April 11, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park with Rev. Nathan Feig, Pastor of Trinity, officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa.

Jean was born on July 28, 1925 in the small town of Delavan, located in Tazewell County, Illinois. She was the first of ten children born to Orville and Zelma (Mosley) Armstrong. When Jean was eleven her family moved to Ottawa’s west side, where she met her future husband, Robert “Bob” Kosnick at a party held at the Christ Episcopal Church. Jean graduated from Ottawa Township High School. Following graduation, she worked for a short time as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell Telephone Company. On April 14, 1945, Jean and Bob were married at the Presbyterian Church in Dade County, Miami, Florida. After Bob’s service in the Navy, they settled in Ottawa and raised three children in the home they would continue to share for most of their lives. Jean celebrated 72 wonderful years of marriage to Bob, prior to his passing last year. Jean was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church where she participated in faith groups, the annual smorgasbord fundraiser and celebrated her relationship with God by attending services with her husband. Jean lived a fulfilling life as a homemaker, and as a partner in her husband’s business. She was instrumental in the establishment and success of Bob’s Auto Upholstering where she worked as the accountant. Jean was an exceptional seamstress and enjoyed tending to her flower gardens and decorating and re-decorating her house. She also had a passion for cooking. One of her favorite past times was looking through cookbooks and magazines for new ideas. But her greatest passion in life was her family who meant the world to her, and she to them. Her devotion to her family is indeed her legacy.   Jean was a much beloved wife and mother of three; a cherished sister and aunt; and a dearly loved grandmother, great grandmother, and mother-in-law. She spent her life caring for others and often went out of her way to help those who were in need. She was someone we could turn to no matter what the reason or circumstance; a refuge in good times and bad. She was always ready to embrace us with healing hugs and a heart bearing unconditional love. Our world will never be the same without her.

Jean left behind her daughters Cynthia Eichelkraut of Charlottesville, VA and Cheryl Baker (Bobby) of Poway, CA; and son Terry Kosnick (Amy) of Eagan, MN; her grandchildren Lisa Bongartz (Randy Hill) of Ottawa and Shelly Carey (Mike) of LaSalle; Angela Sonday (Brent) of Bayfield, WI and Mia and Sabina Kosnick of Eagan, MN; and great grandchildren Jordie Wahl (Chad) of Streator, and Bailie and Riley Bongartz, both of Ottawa; and Lakyn, Lucey, Luke and Louie Sonday of Bayfield, WI. She is also survived by her brothers Dale Armstrong, Haskell “Dean” Armstrong, Daryl Armstrong, and David Armstrong; her half-sisters Linda Reed, Carmen Ivy and Kathy Rinaldo; sister-in-laws Judy (Dan) Armstrong, and Donna Armstrong (Dale); dear friend Louis Pallai; and numerous nieces and nephews. Jean gave all of us so many years of happiness and left us with beautiful memories that we will treasure forever.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Trinity Lutheran Church.

Jean has been laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.

Robert Roth, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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Robert Roth, 82, of Ottawa, died on Friday, April 6, 2018 at his home. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at St. Patrick’s Church. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park, where full military rites will be accorded by the American Legion Post 33 Veteran’s Group Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa. Liturgical prayers will be at 3:45 p.m.

Robert was born on June 29, 1935 in Ottawa to John and Rose B. (Coleman) Roth. He was a U. S. Navy Veteran of the Korean War. He married Shirley Ann LeBeau on August 3, 1957 at St. Mary’s Church in Naplate. Bob was an electrician before his retirement. He was a member of St. Patrick Church and the Ottawa Moose. Bob had been an avid golfer and loved to hunt, fish, and travel.

He is survived by 3 children, Pam and (Chuy) Velazquez, of San Diego, CA, Bob Roth, of Dallas, TX, and Peggy (Keith) Chock, of Honolulu, HI, 5 grandchildren, Garrick Chock, of Seattle, Taryn Chock, L.A., Quinn (Jeremy Talbo) Chock, of Honolulu, Emily Velazquez, of San Diego, and Andrew (Viri Guzman) Velazquez, of San Diego, 1 great grandson, Isaiah Velazquez, a brother, William Roth, of LaSalle, and a loving companion, Lorraine Gayan.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Shirley, on January 22, 2012, 2 brothers, Joe and Jack Roth, and a sister Mary Schmidt. Pallbearers will be, Garrick and Keith Chock, Andrew Velazquez, Ernie Mitchell, Ed Weber, and Dan Bretag.

Memorials may be directed to St. Patrick’s Church.

Robert has been laid to rest in the Garden of Prayer.

James V. Ve Zain, Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa IL

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OTTAWA – James V. Ve Zain, age 83, of Ottawa, passed away Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 7, 2018 at Gladfelter Funeral Home.  Burial will follow in Oakwood Memorial Park.  Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

James was born December 29, 1934 in Arrowsmith, IL, the son of Verion J. and Hazel (Westmoreland) Ve Zain.  He married Betty Martin August 16, 1959 in Ottawa.  She preceded him in death April 7, 2016.  Surviving are his children, Edward Vernoy of Ottawa, Holly (Jim) Leonatti of Dalzell, Steven C. (Jennifer) Ve Zain of Marseilles, James R. (Margaret) Ve Zain of Earlville, and Julie (Erastus) Pratt of Streator; grandchildren, Michael Edward Vernoy, Reilley Leonatti, Steven Ve Zain Jr., Donavan, Tyler, Heidi, Shainah, Miranda, Ashley (Dave) Cramer, and Brittany and Mathew McBee; great grandchildren, Dylan, Autymn, McKaden, Nicco, and Haze McBee; and a brother, Gary (Judithan) Ve Zain of Oswego.  He was preceded in death by one brother, Wayne; one sister, Linda Engle; and one grandson, Gary Gebhardt.

James was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church where he served as a deacon.  He was also a member of Local Teamsters 722 where he served as a truck driver for 40 years.  James was devoted to his family and cherished his time spent with them.  He also adored his beloved dog, Lucy.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

James has been laid to rest in the Garden of Psalms.