Jesse Richard Tilton

LONG CREEK - Sgt. Jesse Richard Tilton, 23, of Long Creek, serving with the 508th Regiment, 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army in Afghanistan passed away on July 16, 2010 in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Frankfurt, Germany from injuries sustained while heroically tending to a fellow soldier during a battle in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Sgt. Tilton will arrive at the Illinois Air National Guard Facility located at the Decatur Airport at 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday July 27, 2010 and will be taken to Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home in Mt. Zion, IL for services. At the request of the family, members of the community are being asked to respectfully stand along the processional route from the airport and south on IL State Route 121 to Mt. Zion. A visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday July 28, 2010 at Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home, Mt. Zion. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday July 29, 2010 at Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home, Mt. Zion. Burial will be in Point Pleasant Cemetery, Long Creek with full military honors. Memorials may be made to Macon County Honor Guard or to Lincoln Challenge Academy. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.dawson-wikoff.com. Jesse was born December 14, 1986 in Decatur, IL the son of Julie A. Tilton. He had attended Mt. Zion High School and went on to graduate from Lincoln Challenge Academy, Rantoul, IL. He attended Richland Community College and went on to serve as a medic with U. S. Army 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, of the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His Awards and Decorations include, the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal and the Combat Medic Badge. He was a member of the Long Creek United Methodist Church. Surviving is his mother: Julie A. Tilton-Magana and her husband Javier of Long Creek; Aunts and Uncles: James Tilton and his wife Judy of Fargo, ND, Linda Isaac and her husband Robert "Bob" of Decatur, Richard Tilton and his wife Judy of Decatur, and Sandra Muirheid and her husband George of Cerro Gordo. Also surviving are many cousins. He was preceded in death by his Aunt: Barbara Warner, Uncle: Gerald Tilton, and maternal grandparents, Theodore and Kathryn Tilton. Jesse was proud to serve as a medic in the US Army and accepted the risks that went along with that responsibility. He loved his family and we are very proud of him. Jesse's memory will always be in the hearts of family and friends. Obituary written by family members. Online guest book at www.legacy.com/ herald-review/Obituaries. asp