Author: paper

Christine Elizabeth Kuwahara passed away May 22, 2020 from complications due to Covid-19 at Northwest Community Hospital of Arlington Heights, IL. Christine was born to the late Robert and Betty Currie on July 8, 1951. She was the beloved mother,…

ODELL – Melvin L. “Mel” Schott, 78, of Odell passed away surrounded by his family Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 10:22 a.m. at his home. Cremation rites were accorded. A private family graveside service will be in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery,…

LOUISVILLE, ILLINOIS– Allen G. “Brownie” Nelson, age 75, of Louisville, Illinois and formerly of Dwight, passed away peacefully early Saturday morning, June 13, 2020, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon. He was born April 9, 1945, in Morris, the…

BOURBONNAIS – Pat Neville, age 83, of Bourbonnais passed away Thursday, June 25, 2020 at her home. She was born October 31, 1936 in Joliet, the daughter of Joseph and Evelyn (Klover) Hermes. Pat graduated from St. Francis Academy and…

GARDNER – James Allan “Whitey” White, age 69 years, of Gardner, IL passed away on Monday, June 22, 2020 at the Morris Hospital. He was born April 5, 1951 in Morris, IL to Walter and Margaret “Betty” (nee Blair) White. He graduated from…

DWIGHT – Richard L. Vaughn, 77, of Dwight, IL passed away at 4:21 p.m., Saturday, June 27, 2020 as the result of a motorcycle accident in rural Pontiac, IL. Cremation rites were accorded, and a graveside service will be held at…

ESSEX – Marilyn Marie Ferrero, age 92, of Essex passed away Monday, June 29, 2020 at Miller Nursing Home and Rehab in Kankakee, IL. She was born September 18, 1927 in Essex Twp., IL to the late Leo and Pauline…

DWIGHT – Steven G. Janssen passed away at 12:17 a.m., Monday, June 29, in St. Joseph Hospital, Bloomington, IL. He was born May 24, 1952 in Watseka, IL to George and Kathryn Janssen, both now deceased. He graduated from Dwight…

POMPANO BEACH, FL – Virginia M. Porter, 91, of Pompano Beach, Florida and formerly of Ransom, passed away Sunday, June 14, 2020 at the John Knox Village Retirement Community in Pompano Beach, Florida. Due to the recent State guidelines set in place…

By Rachael Reynolds-Soucie rachaelthepaper@gmail.com Back in 1971, Apollo 14 carried 500 seeds to the moon and back. Back on Earth, they were planted in various locations around the U.S. such as the White House and the Kennedy Space Center. These…

WILMINGTON – Clara Louise Swisher, age 92, of Wilmington, Illinois passed away Monday, June 8, 2020 at home with her loving family by her side. Born November 5, 1927 in Brookport, Illinois, Clara was a daughter of Donald and Mary…

LEXINGTON – Rhonda Faye Pustmueller, 51, passed away peacefully at her home in Lexington, IL, surrounded by family and love on Sunday, May 31, 2020. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 10, 1968 to James and Clevis Warner….

ODELL – Carol A. Hahn, 59, of Odell passed away Friday, June 5, 2020 at 10:25 a.m. in her home. Cremation rites were accorded with a Celebration of Life and burial at Call/Union Cemetery, Emington, IL to be held at a later…

LAKE SHANNON, IL – Rick W. Meredith, age 55, of Lake Shannon, IL passed away Friday, May 29, 2020 at his home. Born February 5, 1965 in Kankakee, IL, he was a graduate of Reddick High School with the class of…

ROCKFORD – Charles “Charlie” Earl Reamer Jr., 84, of Rockford and formerly of Winnebago, passed away Saturday, May 30, 2020. He was born November 29, 1935 in Fennimore, WI, the son of C. Earl and Martha Louise (Smith)  Reamer. Charlie married…

MAZON – Shelly A. Halstead, 50, of Mazon passed away suddenly at her home on Sunday, May 24, 2020. Born in Morris on September 5, 1969, she was the daughter of the late John E. Williams and Cathy Chamness Fieldman….

SOUTH WILMINGTON – Mary Lou Smolik, age 78, of South Wilmington, IL passed away Thursday, May 28, 2020 at Amita Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, IL. Born August 3, 1941 in Gardner, IL to the late Lloyd W. and Minnie Mary…

DWIGHT – Lillian Pearl Smith, 100, of Dwight passed away Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 5:42 a.m. at Heritage Health in Dwight. A private family service will be held Friday, June 5, 2020 with Father Chris Haake officiating. Burial will…

MAZON – Dolores “Boo” Johnson, age 81, of Mazon passed away Sunday afternoon, May 24, 2020 in her home surrounded by family. Born May 26, 1938 in Morris, Illinois, Dolores Eleanor was a daughter of Gerald and Evelyn (Maier) Misener. She…

CULLOM – Nancy Carol Jensen, 76, of Cabery, Illinois passed away Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 5:15 a.m. at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, Illinois. According to Nancy’s wishes, cremation rites will be accorded. Graveside services will be held at a…

DWIGHT – Terry O’Neal, 77, of Dwight, IL passed away Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 11:35 a.m. in Morris, IL. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at Hager Memorial Home in Dwight, IL. Cremation rites will be accorded following…

DWIGHT – Juanita June Drechsel. Born in Algona, Iowa on April 21, 1925. Juanita June (Bilsborough) Drechsel lived much of her life on a dairy farm in Goodfarm Township near Dwight, Illinois with her beloved Hilbert “Hub” Drechsel. After leaving the…

CHICAGO HEIGHTS – Melvina Cobb-Long, age 94, of Chicago Heights and formerly of Gardner, passed away Thursday evening, May 14, 2020 at her home. Born May 1, 1926 in Decatur, Illinois, Melvina was educated in Bloomington at the Soldiers and Sailors Home…

Dwight Teacher Keeps Her Classes After Returning From Spain By Rachael Reynolds-Soucie rachaelthepaper@gmail.com When Anne Fritsch logs on to Google Hangouts each morning at 4 a.m. to teach her English classes, she’s seeing tiny faces that are 4,100 miles away….

David P. Christenson, 66, passed away May 8, 2020. Born November 14, 1953 to Robert and Dorothy Christenson, he was the fourth of five children. He grew up in Dwight, IL and graduated from Dwight High School in 1971. He received…

DWIGHT – Evelyn Hanlin, 91, of Campus, Illinois passed away Friday, May 8, 2020 at 12:37 p.m. in Campus, IL. According to Evelyn’s wishes cremation rites were accorded after a private visitation held at Hager Memorial Home on Tuesday, May…

HERSCHER – Neil Theodore Ahern, 75, of Herscher and formerly of Campus, passed away April 21, 2020 at Amita Saint Mary’s Hospital. He attended Cabery grade school and was a 1963 graduate of Kempton high school. He was employed as…

PONTIAC – David Howard Schott passed away Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 6:50 a.m. at Accolade Healthcare in Pontiac, IL. Cremation rites will be accorded. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, a Celebration of Life for Dave will be held at…

DWIGHT – James F. Tucker, 65, of Dwight passed away Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at Northwestern Hospital in Huntley. Born September 27, 1954, he was the son of the late Earl and Jean (Goley) Krug and the late James Tucker. Jim…

(The following story was from the April 1 issue of The Paper)   When Rachael Carmichael was a sophomore at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., she met a foreign exchange student from Italy named Arianna whose mom manages Pingu’s…

PONTIAC – Betty E. Norgaard, 89, of Pontiac passed away Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 6:05 p.m. at St. James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center, Pontiac, IL. Cremation rites will be accorded. A private graveside service will be held…

CLINTON – Cinda J. Pulliam, 54, of Clinton passed away at 1:25 a.m., Saturday, April 11, 2020 at her mother’s home in Emington. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Kibler-Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home in Bloomington is…

UNION HILL – Daniel E. Ryan, age 84, of Union Hill, IL passed away Saturday, April 11, 2020 at Miller Rehabilitation Center in Kankakee, IL.Born October 24, 1935 in Chicago, IL to the late John and Mary (nee Elliott) Ryan….

VERONA – David Allen Sinnott, age 87, of Verona passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at Morris Hospital. He was born July 6, 1932 in Sunbury, IL, the son of the late David Edward and Fay (nee Wilkey) Sennott….

CULLOM – Duane E. Flessner, 85, of Cullom passed away April 11, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. at OSF St. James John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac, IL. Private family graveside services will be held at West Lawn Cemetery in Cullom with…

DWIGHT – Carl E. Herb, 89, of Dwight, IL and formerly of Cabery, IL, passed away at 3:10 p.m., Friday, April 3, 2020 at Heritage Health in Dwight, IL. Cremation rites were accorded and a private family graveside service will…

NAPERVILLE – Lucille Guest, 94, of Naperville and formerly of Campus, IL passed away Thursday, April 2, 2020 in Naperville, IL. Due to the shelter-in-place order, private family burial will take place in Round Grove Cemetery, rural Campus, IL. Memorials in…

DWIGHT – Charles H. Pokarney of Dwight passed away Monday, March 30, 2020. Due to the shelter-in-place order private family burial will take place in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Dwight. Cremation rites have been accorded. There will be no visitation. A…

WILMINGTON – Teresa D. Glogowski, age 58, of Wilmington, Illinois andformerly of Hammond, Indiana, passed away Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at Morris Hospital. Born February 17, 1962 in Hammond, Teresa Delores was a daughter of Leroy and Helen (Fortener) Merry….

DWIGHT – Judy Karan Handren, age 67, of Dwight, IL passed away peacefully Thursday, April 2, 2020 at Regency Care of Morris. Born June 27, 1952 in Selma, AL to the late Thomas Franklin and Thelma (nee Tench) Anderson, Sr. Judy…