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Willis Dane Obituary
Born: November 4, 1936
Died: April 26, 2024
Willis H. Dane, 87, of Peru, passed away Friday, April 26, 2024 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria.
Funeral services will be held at 6:00 PM on Friday, May 3, 2024 at the Mueller Funeral Home, Peru with Rev. Tom Redig, Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Peru officiating. Visitation will be from 4:00 PM until the time of services Friday at the funeral home. The services will be livestreamed and available to watch live or anytime following the services on his memorial page at www.MuellerFH.com or on the Mueller Funeral Homes Facebook page.
Mr. Dane was born November 4, 1936 in Minnesota to Chester and Elsie (Hempstead) Dane. He graduated from LaSalle-Peru Township High School as Valedictorian with the Class of 1954. He attended Illinois Valley Community College and then went to the University of Illinois where he majored in Engineering with a minor in Psychology. He married Suzanne S. (Stevens) Dunn on December 18, 2020 in North Aurora.
In his younger years, Mr. Dane was very athletic and enjoyed playing tennis and basketball, including playing basketball for the IVCC Eagles. At age 13, he built his own machine shop. When he was 19, Mr. Dane rode his bike 1000 miles, from Peru to Canada and back. While attending IVCC, he left for a year, built a catamaran, and sailed from Canada to Florida.
Mr. Dane founded, owned, and operated Aqua Control in Spring Valley. He designed fountains throughout the world and even designed the fountain at the roundabout in Peru. He was an avid photographer and he loved people, animals, and traveling. He also enjoyed the outdoors, especially flowers and trees.
Survivors include his wife, Suzanne; two stepchildren, Raymond Dunn of North Aurora and Ryan Dunn of Austin, TX; two stepgrandchildren, Shaelin and Teagan; and one sister, Marion Bauer of Minnesota.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one stepson, Sean Dunn.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Horizon House.
The online guestbook may be viewed and remembrances shared at www.MuellerFH.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Willis Dane
Sponsored by Mueller Funeral Home, Peru.
1 Entry
Brian Castelli
May 1, 2024
I worked for Willis at La Salle Machine when I was a student at IVCC. When I wed, he promoted me to full time so that I could have medical benefits - without me asking. When I moved on to the University of Illinois, he allowed me to work during school breaks. He was very generous to me, always cheering on my successes. I am sad to hear of his passing. All my sympathy to friends and family.
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