URBANA – Hattie Aikens, 85, of Urbana, died at 2:49 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 3, 2009) at home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Perry's Twin City Mortuary Service, Champaign.
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. – Monica H. Armstrong, 88, of Blairsville, Ga., formerly of the Ivesdale area, died Oct. 11, 2009, in the home of her granddaughter in Jasper, Ga.
Funeral services were at 1 p.m. Oct. 14, at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, Jasper, Ga. Interment was in Sunrise Memorial Gardens, Jasper, Ga. Visitation was from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 14 at the church. Roper Funeral Home, 206 Holly St., Jasper, Ga., was in charge of arrangements.
HOOPESTON – David Kim Brewster, 52, of Hoopeston died at 6:30 a.m. Monday (Nov. 2, 2009) at home.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Anderson Funeral Home, 427 E. Main St., Hoopeston. Pastor Henry Bell Jr. will officiate. Cremation rites will be accorded with burial at a later date. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
URBANA – Reva Carmen Busch, 88, of Urbana, died at 7:27 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, at Provena Covenant Medical Center, Urbana.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S. Philo Road, Urbana, with visitation one hour prior to service time. Rev. J. Michael Smith will officiate. Burial with military honors will be at noon on Friday, Nov. 6, at Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield.
Mrs. Busch was born Dec. 13, 1920, in Easton, the daughter of John D. and Jessie D. (VanEtten) Shute. She married Lt. Col. Robert E. Busch (Ret.) on Nov. 11, 1945, at Parris Island, S.C. and he survives.
She also is survived by children Nancy S. Whitlock (Larry) of Berlin, Md., Col. Robert E. Busch II (Ret.) (Susan) of Bradenton, Fla., John L. Busch (Stephanie) of Charlottesville, Va., and Dr. Joseph M. Busch (Janet) of Tuscan, Ariz.; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Dr. John Shute.
Mrs. Busch received a BS in Home Economics at the University of Illinois and was a high school teacher for a short time at Christman High School.
She enlisted in the Navy and was a Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class and worked as a lab technician at Parris Island, S.C. during World War II.
MAHOMET – Holly Cassano, 22, of Mahomet, died at 2 p.m. Monday (Nov. 2, 2009) at home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home, 201 N. Elm St., Champaign.
DANVILLE – Russell Harper, 63, of Danville, died at 12:38 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 3, 2009) at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Pape Memorial Home and Cremation Gardens, 10 E. Williams St., Danville.
RANTOUL – Glade C. Hewerdine, 90, of Rantoul died at 8:10 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 29, 2009) at Heartland Healthcare Center, Champaign.
Funeral services were at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Grandview Memorial Gardens, Champaign. The Rev. Steve Brady officiated. Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home 201 N. Elm St. Champaign, was in charge of arrangements.
CLINTON – Miriam A. Kyle, 61, of Clinton died at 7:44 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 3, 2009) at Dr. John Warner Hospital, Clinton. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Calvert Funeral Home, 201 S. Center St., Clinton.
PAXTON – Virgil Larrance Jr., 74, of Richton Park and Paxton, died Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights.
Visitation will be Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. until the 2 p.m. memorial service at Knapp-Miller Funeral Home in Paxton. The Rev. John Davenport will officiate. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery in Indianola at a later date.
Mr. Larrance was born Oct. 15, 1935, in Logan, a son of Virgil and Stella Nickels Larrance Sr. He married Wilma Jean Creek on Oct. 1, 1954, in Terre Haute, Ind. She preceded him in death on June 23, 2007.
Survivors include one daughter, Jackie Mobley (Rick Rottet) of Paxton; two sisters, Roszilla Beasley of Paxton and Wilma York of Lake City, Tenn.; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Jim and Carolyn Larrance of Paris, Ill., and Larry and Linda Larrance of Waterloo; five sisters-in-law, Mary Lou Stricker of Paris, Ill., Jenny and Ray Freeman of Arkansas, Sissy and Forrest Ward of Texas, and Vera Sanders and Sandy Creek both of Illinois; five grandchildren and spouses, Dan Fry, Don and Feliscia Fry, Wendy and Bob Fry, Cory Mobley and Terri Mobley; and three great-grandchildren, Noah Fry and Daniel and Tristan Smith.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Terry Larrance; one brother, Charles Stricker; and two brothers-in-law, David Creek and Velber Beasley.
Mr. Larrance was a self-employed machinist at T&L Machine for over 40 years. He was an avid Nascar fan. He built engines for stock cars and also raced stock cars himself for many years. He enjoyed building and racing the stock cars with his son, Terry. He had a special relationship with Calumet Brass for over 40 years.
Memorials may be made to the or the .
Arrangements by Knapp-Miller Funeral Home in Paxton.
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – Nancy Louise Leimgruber, 56, of Chesterfield, Mo., died suddenly Monday, Oct. 26, 2009.
Private services were held Oct. 30 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana.
Nancy was born May 31, 1953, in Bryan, Texas, a daughter of William G. Jr. and Helen Sieferman Kammlade. She married Richard M. Leimgruber June 30, 1984.
Her mother and infant son, Matthew R. Leimgruber, preceded her in death.
She is survived by her husband; sister Marilyn Litchfield of Newark, Del.; brother John Kammlade of Jacksonville, Fla.; and her father.
She graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.S. in biology and worked as a medical technologist and electron microscopist at the Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis. At the time of her death, she had served 26 years in analytical research at Monsanto Co. in St. Louis. She was an author and co-author of several technical and scientific journal publications.
Nancy was loved and known for her continual bright and happy countenance, wonderful sense of humor, unlimited generosity, great affection for those close to her and her compassion for those in need. Condolences may be offered at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com
URBANA – Clara N. Tarter, 59, of Urbana passed away at 11:48 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S. Philo Road, Urbana. Burial will be held at Grandview Memorial Gardens, Champaign. Visitation was held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the funeral home.
Mrs. Tarter was born Dec. 8, 1949, in Champaign, a daughter of Robert James and Velna (Bunting) Hildreth. She married Ralph Tarter on Dec. 9, 1967, in Urbana. He survives.
Also surviving are five brothers, Robert E. Hildreth of South Carolina, Marion C. Hildreth of Tolono, and Raymond Hildreth, Thomas Hildreth and Richard Hildreth, all of South Carolina; and three sisters, Connie Neumann of Georgia, Cheryl Castle of Urbana and Cathy Price, also of Urbana.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother and a sister.
Mrs. Tarter retired from the University of Illinois Illini Union and she enjoyed gambling and gardening.
Memorials may be made to Mills Cancer Center or Carle Hospice.
Published in The News-Gazette from 11/3/2009 - 11/4/2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Martha P. Timms, 88, of Nashville, Tenn., formerly of Danville, died at Monday (Nov. 2, 2009) at home.
Funeral services will be at noon Friday at New Life Church of Faith, 1419 N. Bowman Ave., Danville. Pete Williams will officiate. Burial will be in Atherton Cemetery, Danville. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon Friday at the church. Leek & Sons Funeral Home, 304 E. Williams St., Danville, is in charge of arrangements.
CAMARGO – Wendall W. Turner, 93, of Camargo died at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 3, 2009) at home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Joines Funeral Home, Illinois 130 South, Villa Grove.
CARTHAGE – Marianna Emily Walker, 88, of Carthage passed away Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, at 10:40 p.m. at Memorial Hospital in Carthage. She was born on Oct. 18, 1921, at the family homestead near Clearmont, Wyo., to Oliver and Bessie Willis Johnson. She married Roy F. Walker of Carthage on Oct. 5, 1948, at the United Methodist Church Parsonage, Camp Point.
He preceded her in death in 1983.
The Johnson family moved from Wyoming to Nebraska, near Loup City, in 1925, and in 1939, moved to a farm near Camp Point. Marianna graduated from Camp Point Community High School with the Class of 1940. In 1942, she received a junior college degree from Western Illinois State Teacher's College. She taught school, some one-room schools, in Adams and Hancock
counties for six years. She was a member of Maple Grove Rebekah Lodge 283 in Carthage where she served as recording secretary for 25 years. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, Carthage, where she taught
Sunday School for 15 years. She was also a member of United Methodist Women and had served as an officer, a member of Friendly Crusaders Sunday School Class and Florence Palmer Circle within the church. She enjoyed sewing and was a member of the Methodist Church Sewing Circle. Marianna was the family genealogist, having researched several families and writing their histories.
Marianna is survived by two daughters, Diane (and David Lee Zell) Walker-Zell of Camargo and Debra Walker (and Richard Christian Jr.) of Chicago; four sons, Dana Roy Walker of Macomb, David (and Sherry) Walker of Carthage, Donald (and Julie) Walker of Carthage and Darel (and Janet) Walker of Valparaiso, Ind.; 12 grandchildren, Vara Burton, Aaron Wenta, Tyler Walker, Kristin Anderson, Sarah Zaehringer, Kandace and Katie Walker, Emily, Abby, and Naomi Walker, and Colleen and Carlton Christian; and four great-grandchildren, Eliana, Joseph, and Makayla Burton and Deacon Zaehringer
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sister, Hilda Willis, and brothers, Willis, Orlando, Glen and Forrest Johnson.
Visitation will be held Friday, Nov. 6, after 4 p.m. with the
family meeting friends from 5 to 8 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Carthage.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. at United Methodist Church in Carthage with Rev. Steve Smith officiating.
Burial in Moss Ridge Cemetery in Carthage will follow.
Memorials have been established for Carthage United Methodist Church, Camp Callahan and the Hancock County Heart Association.
CHAMPAIGN – Brad "Rug" L. Wells, 55, of Champaign, passed away on Nov. 1, 2009, at his home.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, at Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home, 201 N. Elm, Champaign, with Monsignor Mark Merdian officiating. Visitation will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, Champaign.
Brad was born on June 5, 1954, in Fruita, Colo., the son of Daniel L. Wells and Beverly Hayes Wells.
His family includes a daughter, Abby, of Savoy, and a son, Samuel, of Champaign. Also surviving are his mother, Beverly Wells, Champaign; two brothers, Steven R. (Kathy) Wells, Aurora, Ohio, and Daniel C. (Hilary) Wells, Champaign; two sisters, Patty (Jim) Semonin, Champaign, and Leslie Wells, Savoy. He has three nephews and four nieces. He was preceded in death by his father.
Brad worked at Varsity Striping as a road construction worker for many years. He will be dearly missed by his family and many friends.
Memorial contributions may be made to his children at First Federal Savings Bank, 1311 S. Neil St., Champaign, IL 61820.
DANVILLE – Hezekiah Mishun Williams, stillborn, son of Frederick Howard and Nakisha Williams of Danville, died at 12:10 p.m. Monday (Nov. 2, 2009) at Provena United Samaritans Medical Center, Danville.
Graveside rites will be at 9 a.m. Thursday at Spring Hill Cemetery, Danville. Leek & Sons Funeral Home, 304 E. Williams St., Danville, is in charge of arrangements.
