Umberto "Red" Ponce

1931 - 2025

Umberto "Red" Ponce

August 17, 1931 - January 27, 2025

Funeral services for Umberto "Red" Ponce, 93, of Silvis, Ill., will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at St. Anne Catholic Church, East Moline, Ill. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, East Moline. Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, February 3, 2025 at the Van Hoe Funeral Home, East Moline, where a rosary will be recited at 3 p.m. Mr. Ponce passed away Monday, January 27, 2025, at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf, Iowa.

Red was born August 17, 1931, in Silvis, Ill., the son of Bernardo and Celia Soto Ponce. He married Valentine DeLaRosa February 11, 1956, in East Moline. She passed away October 22, 2011.

He was a proud Veteran of the United States Army, serving in the Korean War. When he returned home, he got a job as an apprentice at the Times Democrat, where he worked his way up to foreman in the Classified Ads Department. While he's had multiple honorable occupations, his most notable was being a partner, with his wife, of the Ice Cream Palace in Silvis for 50 years, until he retired in 2014. Upon retirement, he received a Mayoral Proclamation of a day named after him (December 20th, 2014) for his dedicated service to the City of Silvis; which also included his time as President of the Park Board, an alderman and being elected the City Clerk in 1986. He was an avid Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears fan. Throughout the years of operating his business, he built a loyal customer base, where his customers became family.

Survivors include his children, Paula Ponce, Silvis; Bernie Ponce, Silvis; and Johnna (Dennis) Mahoney, Colona, Ill.; grandchildren, Austin Mahoney, Silvis, and Alexa Mahoney, Colona.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association or the Quad City Animal Welfare Center.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife.

The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House for their extraordinary care.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.vanhoe.com

Van Hoe Funeral Home