URBANA - Hattie Mae Aikens, 87, of Urbana died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held at noon Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, at Grove Street Church of God In Christ with Dist. Elder Michael Giboney officiating. Visitation will be one hour before service at the church. Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens, Urbana. Professional services were entrusted to Perry's Twin City Mortuary Service.
Hattie Mae was born on Jan. 1, 1922, in Anderson, S.C., to the union of Luther Crawford and Alma Ruth (Stowers) Crawford. She was married to Clint Aikens; he preceded her in death.
She accepted Christ in her life and was a member of the Restoration Church.
She leaves to cherish her memories her daughters, Barbara (Avery Sr.) Washington of Champaign, Ruth Postell of Marbury and Alabama and Mamie Lindsey of Hampton, Va.; her son, Jimmy Calvin Lindsey of California; her brothers, Luther Crawford, John Calvin (Helen) Crawford and Robert (Margie) Crawford, all of New York, and Horace (Donna) Crawford of South Carolina; her sisters, Frances Esaw of South Carolina, Sally Butler of Washington, D.C., and Willie Mae Williams of New York; 27 grandchildren; 89 great-grandchildren; 27 great-great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, and many other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, husband and siblings Betty Jones, Alice Lindsey and Charles Crawford.
Special thanks to nurse Judy from Provena and all who helped care for our loved one and to all whom have showed us love during our time of bereavement.
Published in The News-Gazette from 11/6/2009 - 11/8/2009
DANVILLE - Lois Amos, 88, of Danville died Thursday (Nov. 5, 2009) at Vermilion Manor Nursing Home, Danville.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 3940 N. Vermilion St., Danville. Pastor Miles Clark will officiate. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park, Danville. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
HOMER - Marion F. "Ned" Bear, 89, of Homer died at 11:48 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, at his residence.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Kirby Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St., Homer. The Rev. Steve Burwell will officiate. Burial will be in the G.A.R. Cemetery in Homer.
There will be a visitation from 10 a.m. until service time on Tuesday at the funeral home.
Mr. Bear was born on April 11, 1920, in Mountain City, Tenn. He leaves behind his wife of 68 years, Helen.
Also surviving are a sister, Juanita Brown of Homer, and several nieces and nephews.
He was a farmer for many years, retiring in 1984. He served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Committee for 10 years, receiving a pin for his work.
He was a dealer for Bear's Hy-bred seed corn company. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge.
Mr. Bear loved to go to auction sales and working with wood.
CARENCRO, La. - Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, at Evangeline Memorial Gardens Chapel in Carencro, La., for Curtis K. Bolinger, 71, who passed away at 3 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, at Meadow Brook Rehabilitation Center in Lafayette, La.
Interment will follow at a later date in Virginia. The Rev. Chad Thibodeaux, pastor of Vatican Baptist Church, will officiate at the services.
Mr. Bolinger was born and raised in Illinois, lived in Virginia Beach, Va., for 25 years during his military service and was most recently a resident of Arnaudville, La. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having proudly served his country during the Vietnam era. Mr. Bolinger was a retired USS Navy E6 Airman. He was a parishioner of Vatican Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Mildred Savoy Bolinger of Cecilia, La.; three sons, Curtis M. Bolinger of Cecilia, James A. Bolinger and his wife, Tina, of North Carolina, and Kevin J. Bolinger and his wife, Christine, of Pennsylvania; one stepson, Michael Cousson and his wife, Anita, of New Iberia, La.; one stepdaughter, Rebecca Schmidt and her husband, Douglas, of Newport News, Va.; four grandchildren; seven stepgrandchildren; five step-great-grandchildren; one brother, Floyd L. Seed Jr. and his wife, Dominga, of Austin, Texas; and one sister, Sandra Pepper and her husband, Gary, of Illinois.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar K. Bolinger and the former Eva J. Paine, both natives of Illinois; one son, John S. Bolinger; one brother, Robert E. Bolinger; and one sister, Ima Jean Seed.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed Monday from 8 a.m. until time of services.
MAHOMET - Celebration of Life memorial services for Holly Marie Cassano (Black), 22, of Mahomet will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, at Mahomet Christian Church, Lake of the Woods Road.
Holly's family requests that friends and family feel welcome to bring photos and memories to share at the service.
Holly passed away at 2:10 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, in her home.
She was born Oct. 28, 1987, the daughter of Toni and Don.
She was employed as a cashier at Meijer and as a hostess at Bob Evans Restaurant, both in Champaign.
Holly was a 2006 graduate of Mahomet-Seymour High School.
She is survived by her daughter, Alexis; her parents; a brother, Kasey; two sisters, Brandy (Chris) and Dawn (Jack); her maternal grandparents, Kathy and Joe; an aunt, Cris; a cousin/sister, Amber; our nephews, Nathan, Zachary, Joshua, and Thomas; many extended family members; and many dear, dear friends.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Holly's memory may be made to the Holly Cassano Memorial Fund at any First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust or the Alexis Walker Benefit Fund at any Busey Bank.
Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of Holly.
DANVILLE - Raymond Arthur "Spud" Cronkhite, 90, of rural Danville passed away Friday, November 6, 2009, at Hoopeston Regional Health Center, where he had been a resident for two years.
Raymond was born to Herman and Ula (Dengler) Cronkhite on February 21, 1919, in rural Vermilion County near Rossville. He was the sixth descendant of original Dutch settlers who came to Dutch New Amsterdam, now Manhattan, in 1643.
Raymond's early childhood was a quintessential American story of barefoot summer days, church on Sunday by horse and buggy, farm chores before and after classes in a one-room school and family time lit by oil lamps and warmed by potbelly stoves - an agrarian lifestyle practiced for nearly 300 years by his forefathers.
One of his first jobs was as a milkman for Meadow Gold Dairy, delivering dairy products to the home in a dairy truck that you stood to drive and steered with a vertical lever. When World War II started, Raymond became a machinist with FMC of Hoopeston, where he met his bride to be and lifelong love, Ruth Pyle, whom he married on August 6, 1944.
After the war, Raymond went to work for Vermilion Service Company, from which he retired after 33 years of providing fuel and feed services to Farmers throughout central Vermilion County.
His involvement in his communities included serving on the Henning School board, president and secretary of the Local Grumble Corner security association and church deacon, with his most recent church home being Danville Alliance Church. He was also a former member of the Bismarck Lion's Club.
Survivors include one daughter, Joann Mathews of Covington, Ind.; and a son, Glenn Cronkhite and his wife, Joyce (Schultz) Cronkhite, of rural Danville. His legacy also includes nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Raymond was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Arlee (Pyle) Cronkhite; his eldest son, Daniel Raymond Cronkhite; his sister, Marita Webb; and his brother, Eugene Cronkhite.
Funeral services for Mr. Cronkhite will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at Brown-Alkire Funeral Home, 309 E. Washington St., Hoopeston. Pastor Ken Cameron will officiate. Burial will be at Floral Hill Cemetery in Hoopeston. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Danville Alliance Church, 2509 N. Bowman Ave., Danville, IL 61832.
URBANA - Mary C. Johnson, 79, of Urbana died at 11:48 a.m. Monday (Nov. 2, 2009) at her home.
Funeral services will be at noon Wednesday at Grove Street Church of God in Christ, 501 E. Grove Ave., C. Burial will be in Lincoln Memorial Gardens, Urbana. Visitation will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church. Perry's Twin City Mortuary Service, Champaign, is handling arrangements.
DANVILLE - Ernestine M. McDowell, 92, passed away Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 at the Champaign County Nursing Home, Urbana, after a brief illness.
She was born September 16, 1917, in Danville to Ernest and Maud Holycross. She married Wade R. McDowell on February 21, 1945. He preceded her in death on April 2, 1979. Also preceding her in death were three sisters and four brothers.
She is survived by two daughters, Shirley (William) Green of Urbana and Margaret (Larry) Hawkins of Rantoul; four grandchildren, Cathy (John) Hiser of Ogden, Laurie (Randy) Clark of Dewey and Kevin (Dawn) Hawkins and Janelle (Jeff) Isaacs, both of Farmer City; eight great-grandchildren; one brother, Harold (Ann) Holycross of Westville; and one sister, Mabel Browning of Northfork, Fla.
Mrs. McDowell was a homemaker. She enjoyed cooking, gardening, walking, music, and visiting with friends and relatives. Ernie, as she was fondly known by many, will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Visitation for Mrs. McDowell will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, at Sunset Funeral Home of Danville. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, ATTN: Tribute Gifts, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY 10008 or the , P.O. Box 96280, Washington, D.C. 20077.
GEORGETOWN - Mary Etta Mock, 85, of Georgetown died at 8:37 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 7, 2009) at her home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Pape Memorial Home and Cremation Gardens, 10 E. Williams St., Danville.
LUDLOW - Carl Roberts, 71, of Ludlow died Friday (Nov. 6, 2009) at his home. Funeral arrangements were incomplete at Morgan Memorial Home, 1304 Regency Drive West, Savoy.
SAN DIEGO - Ida Jane Walker, age 92, died Oct. 22, 2009, in San Diego of complications from a heart attack. She had recently moved to California to be closer to her family.
Jane (she never liked the name Ida) was born Aug. 27, 1917, in Indianapolis, daughter of Anthony Hodge and Hulda Caroline Worsham. Jane was one of five children in the family, all of whom have predeceased her.
Jane graduated from Indiana University with a business degree in 1940, and was an active member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She married Dr. James Walker on Sept. 13, 1941. While Dr. Walker served 51 months in the Army as a battalion surgeon in the South Pacific, Jane raised their son, Jim Jr. When he returned from the war, the couple resided in Baltimore, Md., for two years, while Jim finished his medical residency at Johns Hopkins University.
The couple then moved to Urbana in 1947, when Dr. Walker joined Carle Clinic as the head of surgeons for the Ear, Nose and Throat Department. The Walkers were active in the Champaign-Urbana community, and enjoyed living there for many years.
Jane was a member of the Urbana Golf and Country Club since the early 1950s, active on various committees, and always enjoyed a round of golf with her friends. At age 70, she made a hole-in-one at Urbana's hole number 8, during the Illini Women's Athletic Golf Outing.
Later in life, Jane was the caregiver as Dr. Walker struggled with Alzheimer's disease, which at the time was a relatively unknown condition. She helped organize an Alzheimer's caregiver's support group, and later helped explain the care needed for Alzheimer's patients to the Champaign County Nursing Home. Dr. Walker passed away in 1992.
Jane Walker is survived by her daughter, Sally Simonic and husband, Allan of San Diego; grandson, Scott Simonic and wife, Autumn, of San Diego; and son, Jim Walker Jr., and wife Jeanne of Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Jane loved to travel, cook, read, play her weekly Mah-Jongg game with friends, and collect Victorian antique hatpins. Jane was a lifelong fan of Illini athletics, even after moving to the west coast.
Jane always said she had no regrets in her life, but had always wanted to learn how to downhill snow ski.
Entombment will be with her husband in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
This wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and avid golfer will be missed.
Memorial contributions may be sent to The Carle Development Foundation for the ECHO Auditory Oral School, 611 West Park St., Urbana, IL 61801.
