Ralph Place

HOMER – Ralph Stanley Place, 92, of Homer passed away at 7:12 a.m. Friday (Feb. 20, 2015) at Presence Covenant Medical Center in Urbana.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at Kirby Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St., Homer. Pastor Raymie Gordon will officiate. Burial will be in GAR Cemetery, Homer.

Ralph was born Dec. 27, 1922, in Homer, the son of Charles Chester and DeEtta Josephine (Mumm) Place. He married Marilyn Poulson on July 16, 1954, in Evanston. She survives.

Also surviving are his children, Gary (Shelley) Place of Homer, Dennis Summer of Mesquite, Texas, and Karen Taylor of Homer; four grandchildren, Andy (Kirsten) Place, DeEtta (Chris) Miller, Lisa Summer and Jeffry Summer; one great-grandson, Cole Miller; and two sisters, Pearl Myers of St. Joseph and Phyllis Koski of Wheaton.

He was preceded in death by one sister and five brothers.

Ralph was a farmer. He enjoyed Illini basketball and VGH basketball, and was a Cardinal fan.

Memorials can be made to GAR Cemetery or Homer Fire and Rescue.

Jodi Kiesewetter

SIDNEY – Jodi K. Kiesewetter, 42, of Sidney passed away at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, on Tuesday (Feb. 17, 2015).

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with David Barcus officiating. Burial will be in Mount Olive Cemetery, Mayview. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

Jodi was born Feb. 29, 1972, in Champaign, the daughter of Raymond and Barbara Landreth Bialeschki. She married Rob Kiesewetter on Aug. 19, 2000. He survives.

She also is survived by her sister, Gina Rae (Doug Parker) Bialeschki of St. Joseph; cousins, Rose Jones of Champaign and Tara Bialeschki Smith of St. Joseph; uncle, Steve Landreth of Edgewood; and her three "babies," dogs Lita, Lacey and Marcy.

Jodi was preceded in death by her parents.

Jodi worked at the University of Illinois in Library Systems. Jodi enjoyed doing crafts, woodworking, reading and yardwork. Most of all, Jodi loved her dogs.

Jodi battled Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) for four years and beat it with two stem cell transplants.

Hoyle Brooks Puckett, Jr.

CHAMPAIGN – Hoyle Brooks Puckett Jr. of Champaign passed away in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, at Presence Covenant Medical Center, Urbana.

He was born July 16, 1950, in Oxford, N.C., the son of (the late Hoyle Sr. and) Faye Puckett. His elementary education in Champaign was followed by graduation at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. He attended the University of Illinois, receiving a degree in agricultural economics in 1974 and an MBA in 1990. He was a banker/mortgage lender in Rantoul.

He married Janet Friederich on Aug. 14, 1971. They have three children, Matthew (Carrie) Puckett and their daughter, Loretta; Mandie (Jeremy) Abel and their daughters, Brooke and Bree; and Mark (partner Jessica Eddy) and daughters, Kayla Eddy and Averie Puckett.

Also surviving Hoyle are his sisters, Carol Puckett and Kristy (John) Berbaum; sister-in-law, Fran (Philip) DeMaris; brother-in-law, Al (Peg Shaw) Friederich; 12 nieces and nephews; eight great-nieces and nephews; and many cousins of all generations.

A celebration of his life will be at noon Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service (from 11 a.m. to noon) Saturday at the funeral home.

In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, a donation to the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org), or Eastern Illinois Food Bank (2405 North Shore Drive, Urbana, IL, 61802) would be appreciated.

Condolences may be offered online at www.owensfuneralhomes.com.