Loran William "Bill" Yoakum

Loran William "Bill" Yoakum passed away at home after a two year battle with metastatic melanoma cancer. Bill was born June 28, 1943 in Batavia, the son of the late Loran Yoakum and Florence Yoakum. He was owner/operator of Aurora Area Express Trucking for over 50 years until his retirement in 2019.

In Bill's earlier years, he was owner of Hillcrest Speed and Engineering and was a "regular" at the Oswego Drag Raceway as well as many drag strips across the country. Later, his activities revolved around hunting season. He spent many mornings watching the sun rise from a deer stand, turkey blind, or fishing from a riverbank. Most knew that his basement was like a museum of taxidermy. He was also a past member and racer of the Aurora-Batavia Racing Pigeon Club and had a very successful team of birds. Bill was a lover of a pocket Tee shirt, a cold Coke, and spending time at his lodge facility cabin.

He is survived by his wife Elaine, daughters, Karen (Tim) Cinto of Sugar Grove, IL and Debbie (Jim) Emanuel of Punta Gorda, FL; grand-children, Megan (Kenny) Bassett, Erin (Kegan) Haeseli, Betheney (Tay) Dalbey, Matt (Shweta) Emanuel, Emily (Mark) Weir, and Max Emanuel; 4 ½ great-grandchildren; sisters, Loreen Popp and Mary Siebert, and many special nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his first wife Deanna, his son, Billy Yoakum (2009), his son, Tom Yoakum (2001), and his brother, John Yoakum (1972).

Thank you to Dr. Ryan Engel and the oncology team at Advocate Aurora for giving us two additional years with Bill.

Memorial contributions may be directed to either Sugar Grove United Methodist Church or the conservation, forestry or outdoor-oriented charity of their choice.

A visitation will take place on Friday, September 26, 2025 from 12 PM to 2 PM at The Healy Chapel Sugar Grove, 370 Division Dr., Sugar Grove, IL 60554. A funeral service will immediately follow the visitation at 2 PM.