Ronald Rockwell

Ronald Rockwell

HOMER – Ronald James Rockwell, 70, of Homer passed away at 4:09 p.m. Friday (March 29, 2013) at Heartland Healthcare in Champaign. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, April 1, at Kirby Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St., Homer. The Rev. Dennis Anglin will officiate. Burial will be in the G.A.R. Cemetery in Homer with military rites at the graveside. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Mr. Rockwell was born April 8, 1942, in Tulsa, Okla., a son of Earl and Fern Coburn Rockwell. Survivors include his girlfriend of 13 years, Sharon Cutright in Homer; five children, Mary Ray of Eudora, Miss., Lisa (David) Makemson of Danville, Rhonda (Buddy) Wilson of Southaven, Miss., James (Amelia) Rockwell of Gallatin, Tenn., and Sueann Rockwell of Bismarck; 17 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren; one sister, Billie Wilsey of Inola, Okla. He was preceded in death by his parents and two grandsons.
Mr. Rockwell helped with maintenance at the G.A.R. Cemetery in Homer, through the years worked in water treatment and helped with farming. Ron was a member of the Homer American Legion. He was an Army veteran.
His hobbies included fishing, gardening, camping and loving the outdoors. He enjoyed working on old cars. He was also an avid reader of Louis L'Amour westerns. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cysticfibrosis Foundation.

Herbert Helmick

Herbert Helmick, Sr.

URBANA – Herbert Bradley Helmick Sr., 82, of Urbana passed on at 8:44 a.m. March 24, 2013.
Herb was born Sept. 14, 1930, to Otto Carl and Lola (Isaacs) Helmick. He was married to Florence (Wingler) on Aug. 4, 1950, and they had seven children.
Survivors include a son, Rick (Debbie) Helmick Sr. of St. Joseph; daughters, Patricia L. Helmick of Champaign, Jo Lynn (Marion "Boots") Lewis of Idaho, Vicki L. (Gary) Plackett of Pesotum and Kristi L. (Jack) Helmick of Champaign; 14 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; four sisters, Marty Smith of Indiana, Rose (Frank) Burello of Indiana, Helen (Scott) Fisher of Michigan and Judy (Jack) Pease of Urbana; two brothers, Carl Helmick of Indiana and Bob Head of Urbana; half-sister, Lois; brother-in-law, William "Bill" Wingler of Champaign; sister-in-law, Kay (George) Meek of Michigan; sister-in-law, Madonna (Dave) Espling of Indiana; and his two beloved dogs, Hudson and Abby.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years; his parents; three sisters, Elta, Velta and Beulah; two brothers, Delbert and Hubert Helmick; two sons, Herby Helmick Jr. and Jay Helmick; a granddaughter, Lori A. Rivera; and a grandson, Ricky "Boo" Helmick, Jr.
Herb was a hard worker from the age of 8. He enjoyed sharing his skills with others. He worked on jobs that were incredibly difficult. During his life he enjoyed many activities including shooting marbles, playing pool and throwing horseshoes and he excelled at all.
He was in the Army and he was always very patriotic. He worked at and later purchased Hunter Lumber Company. He owned Helmick Lumber Mill, from which he retired in 2003.
Family and friends will gather together to honor Herb at noon Saturday, March 30, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S. Philo Road, Urbana. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the funeral home. He will be laid to rest in East Lawn Cemetery in Urbana, next to his loving wife.
As Herb always said, "see you in the funny papers."
Memorial contributions may be made to American Legion Post 71, 107 N. Broadway, Urbana, IL 61801, where Herb was a longtime member, or donor's choice.

Walter Quednau

Walter Quednau

ST. JOSEPH – Walter Carl Quednau, 95, of St. Joseph died at 11:40 a.m. Monday (March 25, 2013) at Canterbury Ridge, Urbana.
Memorial services will be held at a later date. Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory, Urbana, is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Quednau was born on Feb. 9, 1918, in Chicago, the son of Walter Willie and Rosa Dreibrodt Quednau. He married Lois Luebker on June 23, 1945; she survives.
Also surviving are one daughter, Jennifer Hixson of Urbana; two sons, Walter Carl Quednau of Bloomingdale and Robert Allen Quednau of St. Joseph; three sisters, Rose Rocklin, Meta Polak and Lorelei Lesak; one brother, Theodore Quednau; 13 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers.
Mr. Quednau was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II.
He retired as a sales engineer for Interlake Steel.
Mr. Quednau was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Joseph, and the VFW.
He loved golfing, fixing VCRs and working with computers.
Condolences may be offered at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com.

Lynnae Finis

Lynnae Finis

ST. JOSEPH – Lynnae Reese Finis began her life's journey on Jan. 16, 1985, at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.
A struggling diabetic, Lynnae faced many challenges throughout her life's journey. Lynnae reached her final destination on Sunday (March 24, 2013) at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center.
She was a 2003 graduate of St. Joseph-Ogden High School and attended Parkland College.
Lynnae loved being with her family and spending time with her cousins and friends. She was a St. Joseph Panther/Spartan fan to the end, enjoying supporting (and coaching) her dad's girls' basketball team.
She loved getting to know the girls on the team and always had her front-row seat in the bleachers. She was proud of all of her dad's accomplishments, especially when he accepted the head coaching position at the high school level.
She was very close to her family and made it her primary goal to keep in touch with everyone. She was proud of her sister and strived for her sister to be proud of her. She welcomed her new brother-in-law Jacob with open arms.
She received the gift of life with a kidney/pancreas transplant in 2011. The family was pleased to learn that Lynnae would be able to extend the gift of life to at least two other families, thus allowing her amazing strength and spirit to continue. Lynnae's incredible perseverance and determination is to be admired and remembered.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at the St. Joseph Church of Christ.
Memorials can be made to the Finis Family for the establishment of a Girls' Spartan basketball scholarship or to Restoring Hope Transplant House in Middleton, Wis.
She is survived by her parents, Jeff and Teresa Finis of St. Joseph; her sister, Brianna (Jacob) Varner of Rantoul; her beloved dog Narley; her paternal grandparents, Doug and Carolyn Finis of Bellflower; her maternal grandfather, Glenn Dillman of Homer; maternal great-grandmother, Elnora Felkner of Newman; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her maternal grandmother and her angel, Judy Dillman.
Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, is in charge of arrangements

Lynn Fenter

Lynn Fenter

URBANA – Lynn Ray Fenter, 58, of Urbana died at 8:25 a.m. Thursday (March 21, 2013) at home.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 25, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory, Urbana. Pastor Eric Colter will officiate. A reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Mr. Fenter was born Aug. 11, 1954, in Bryan, Ohio, the son of Merlyn and Carolyn Mock Fenter. He married Marsha Reiss on Sept. 2, 1989. She survives.
Also surviving are his parents of Florida; one son, Aaron Carl (Michelle) Fenter of Sidney; one daughter, Kylie Rae (Danny) Cloninger of Sidney; two sisters, Vicki Rickard of Oklahoma and Deb Reese of Indiana; two brothers, Merle Fenter of Florida and Chris Fenter of Florida; and six grandchildren, Alex, Ava and Allison Fenter, Raelyn, Rylee and Kodee Cloninger.
Mr. Fenter retired as a line technician for Kraft Foods.
He was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Joseph, NRA, ISRA, Corvette Club of Champaign County and "The Lantern House Clubhouse."
Memorial contributions may be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Illinois.
Condolences may be offered at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com.

Charles Steffey

Charles Steffey

OGDEN – Charles R. Steffey, 78, of Ogden passed away at 5:28 a.m. Wednesday (March 20, 2013) at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at Kirby Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St., Homer. Pastor Ted Rohde will officiate. Burial will be in the G.A.R. Cemetery, Homer. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 22, at Kirby Funeral Home.
Charles was born Dec. 13, 1934, in Ogden Township to William Lester and Dorothy Bumgart Steffey Sr.
He married Margaret Holycross on Oct. 27, 1957, in Danville. Margaret survives as well as two daughters, Salena (Ron) Peters of Urbana and Sharon (Jim) Ingrum of Ogden; one son, Rick Steffey of Homer; five grandchildren, Lindsey (Stuart) Purcell, Nicole Peters and her fiance, Ian Stanberry, Dana Peters, Hannah Ingrum and Layne Ingrum; one brother, William (Laura) Steffey Jr. of Homer; and several nieces and nephews.
Charles was preceded by his parents and one sister, Dea Allison.
He attended the #10 Church of Christ. Charlie farmed in the area all his life. He enjoyed old cars, antiques and toy tractor shows. Some of his favorite times were spent at Lake of the Ozarks with family and friends.
You could always count on Charlie to be at the Colonial Pantry or Stallings Ford most mornings with a story to share with the local farmers.
The family would like to thank the 7th floor nurses and staff at Provena Covenant and Dr. Chaudhry for the excellent care provided during his illness. Memorial contributions may be made to Provena Covenant Foundation in memory of Charles R. Steffey.

David Devore

David Devore

SAVOY – David R. Devore, 57, of Savoy went home to be with our Lord on Monday afternoon (March 18, 2013) at Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis. After months of very poor health, he was diagnosed with widespread cancer. His pastor and church friend was by his side.
Memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Savoy United Methodist Church. All family and friends are welcome.
David was born to Lester and Norma Jean (Dow) Devore on July 18, 1955, in Champaign. His mother preceded him in death in 1970, leaving him with father and three brothers, Richard (Karin) of Plainfield, Michael (Judy) of Naperville and Dale (Eddi) of Yuma, Ariz.
David's father, Lester, later remarried in 1975 to Carol Shore. She brought into the family her daughter, Teresa (Terry Hitt) of St. Joseph, and her son, Walter (Jill) Shore of Urbana. This made a blended family of five brothers and one sister. He leaves a host of aunts, uncles and cousins, plus a multitude of friends.
As per David's wishes, he was cremated. At a later date, he will be placed in the cemetery beside his mother's grave in Southern Illinois. His mother was struck down by cancer, as was David.
David was working at Hawthorn Suites until his health forced him to retire. He then volunteered with friends for light duty jobs at his church, which he loved.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, donations may be made to the Savoy United Methodist Church or a charity of your choice.