Wanda Viles

ST. JOSEPH – Wanda Viles, 79, of St. Joseph passed away on Jan. 20, 2016, at Presence Covenant Medical Center, Urbana.

Memorial services will be held at a later date.

Wanda was born on July 18, 1936, in Champaign, the daughter of Roy and Margaret Armstrong Craig. She married Wendell Viles on Feb. 25, 1956, at Ogden. He survives.

Also surviving are her daughter Shaun (Buddy) Knipfer of Hampshire, Ill.; son, Warren (Jeanna) Viles of Petersburg; grandchildren, Donna Viles Ozier and Steve Viles of Clarkville, Ind.; three great-grandchildren, Trey, Trent and Nate Ozier; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Roy Craig Jr., Jim Craig and Bob Craig.

Wanda worked for many doctors in the area. She worked at St. Joseph Apothecary.

She was a member of the Urbana VFW Auxiliary.

Wanda enjoyed visiting her grandchildren.

David E. Jones

ST. JOSEPH – David E. Jones, 68, of St. Joseph passed away at 8:52 p.m. Monday (Jan. 25, 2016) at his home.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with the Rev. Clyde Synder officating. Burial will be in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Newman. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Dave was born Sept. 7, 1947, at Danville, the son of Noah Paul and Margaret Ann Davison Jones.

He is survived by his sister, Judy (Ivan) Dardar of Arcola; four nieces, Connie Wilson, Paige Williams, Paylee Ochs and Hillary Sturts; and three nephews, Chris Jones, Patrick Pierce and Paul Sturts.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Chuck Jones; and a nephew, Tommy Pierce.

Dave retired from Kraft after many years of service. He graduated from Allerton-Broadlands-Longview High School in 1965. Dave loved his nieces and nephews very much and attended all of their sporting events. He was friend to all and was a "superfan" of local high school sports along with being a Heritage and Villa Grove High School coach. There was not a gym in central Illinois that he would walk into without knowing the coaches, referees, local parents, fans and administration. Dave was a avid Corvette fan and collector.

Rest in peace, Dave. You will be missed by many, and now you have a front row seat in heaven!

Kenneth E. Clem

DANVILLE – Kenneth E. Clem, 90, of Danville passed away at Hawthorne Inn on Monday (Jan. 25, 2016).

He was born in Homer to Herbert and Adria (Taylor) Clem on Sept. 12, 1925. He married Alberta Stuebe on Sept. 17, 1950, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Broadlands. She survives.

Also surviving are three daughters, Tammy (Tony) Ellis of Catlin, Gail (Jeff) Siddens of Ellisville, Mo., and Cindy (Roger) Heath of Danville; six grandchildren, Addison and Blaine Ellis, Aaron and Dylan Siddens, Ryan (Dora) Heath and Taryn (Jordan) Chesrown; five great-grandchildren; and one brother, Don (Irma) Clem of Homer.

Ken was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and three sisters.

Ken enjoyed photography, camping, fishing, working with wood and anything outdoors.

In 1946, Ken was drafted into the Air Force. He served one year, and then again in 1951, he was drafted into the Army to serve until 1953. He worked for Fleming and Weller and District 118 schools.

A celebration of Ken's life will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center. Officiating will be Pastor Kent Tibben. Burial will follow the services at GAR Cemetery in Homer. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, at the funeral home.

Please join Ken's family in sharing memories, photos and videos on his tribute wall atwww.sunsetfuneralhome.com.

Alfred "Frank" Britt

OGDEN – Alfred "Frank" Britt passed into life eternal at sunset on Saturday (Jan. 23, 2016).

Frank was born on Sept. 6, 1925, to Charles and Leola Vandervort Britt in Ogden Township, where he lived his entire life.

He served his country in World War II in the U.S. Army in the Philippines.

Frank married Ellen Ackerman at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Gifford on Dec. 28, 1949. She survives along with their four children, Rita (Thomas) McSorley of Manassas, Va., Melinda (Hector) Trevino of Urbana, Tracy Britt of rural Ogden and Gary (Margaret) Britt of rural St. Joseph.

Frank was the grandfather of Charles, Erin and Carolyn McSorley; Asher and Caleb Trevino; Jennifer (Britt) Hagler, Kyle and Morgan Britt; and Andrea Tomlinson Britt.

He also had six great-grandsons, Micah and Evan McSorley; and Luke, Brody, Easton and Jack Britt.

Also surviving are a younger brother, John of Moses Lake, Wash.; younger sister, Janet (Donald) Skudlarek of St. Cloud, Minn.; as well as several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by one sister, Alice Joyce Graham; two brothers, Robert and William; as well one nephew, Michael Skudlarek.

Alfred was a successful farmer who was passionate about raising livestock and soil conservation practices.

He was a charter member of American Legion Post 996 at Royal, serving as commander in 1968. He was a member of Hope United Church of Christ, rural Fithian.

Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project.

Funeral services will be at noon Wednesday, Jan. 27, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with the Rev. Frank Hoss officiating. Burial will be in Huls Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the funeral home.

Maria Jeske

ST. JOSEPH – Maria Jeske, 95, of St. Joseph passed away on Friday (Jan. 22, 2016) at Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Joseph, with Pastor Seth Jersild officiating. Burial will be in Patterson Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the church.

Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, is handling arrangements.

Maria was born on Jan. 31, 1920, in the Ukraine. She married Ernst R. Jeske on Oct. 1, 1938. He preceded her in death on Aug. 21, 1993.

She is survived by her sons, Victor Jeske of Schaumburg and Leon Jeske of Champaign; daughter, Rosalie Schneider of Inverness; six grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; two sisters; and two brothers.

She was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings.

Maria was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Joseph.

She moved from the Ukraine to Germany in 1943, then to the United States in 1952. They lived in Chicago until 1969, then moved to Deerbrook, Wis., until 1988 when they retired to St. Joseph.

She enjoyed knitting, quilting and loved to cook. Maria belonged to St. Joseph Senior Citzens, Homemakers Club and Meals on Wheels.

Betty Gene Coombs

ST. JOSEPH – Betty Gene Coombs of St. Joseph, formerly of Tuscola, passed away on Thursday (Jan. 14, 2016) at her daughter's home in St. Joseph.

Betty was born in Shelby County on July 28, 1926, to Arlie and Maude (Houser) Craig.

She married Calvin S. Coombs on Dec. 5, 1945. He preceded her in death on Sept. 4, 2015. She was also preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and four brothers.

Betty is survived by their son, Ron (Sue) Coombs of East Peoria; daughter, Connie (Ed) Kroll of St. Joseph; daughter, Pennie (Dale) Poynter of Tuscola; son, Mike (Chris) Coombs of Tower Hill; brother, Paul "Short" Craig of Sullivan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Betty and Calvin have 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

There are many things that Betty will be remembered for. She enjoyed writing to and receiving letters from family members. She was adored for her cooking with a specialty of noodles, applesauce cookies and summer sausage. Before retiring in 1996, she did a lot of gardening and canning.

Betty loved her family dearly. She kept up on their accomplishments and looked forward to their visits and phone calls more than anything. She was a constant source of hugs, kisses and "I love you's." All of these will be missed more than words can express.

Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at Joines Funeral Home, Villa Grove, with a short service at 1:45 p.m. Graveside services will follow at 3 p.m. at Arthur Cemetery, Arthur.

Raymond F. "Joe" Schnellenberger

TOLONO – Raymond F. "Joe" Schnellenberger, 91, of Tolono passed away at 6:20 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 14, 2016) at Presence Covenant Medical Center, Urbana.

Services will be held at a later date.

Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, is in charge of arrangements.

Joe was born on Nov. 17, 1924, in Adyville, Ind., the son of Albert and Sadie Hobbs Schnellenberger. He married Ethel Gentry on Dec. 22, 1948. She preceded him in death in 1987.

He is survived by his children, Rebecca (Steve) Reifsteck of Ogden, Scott Schnellenberger of Champaign and Jennifer L. Mohr of Tolono; seven grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and two half brothers, Alan Schnellenberger of Williamsville, Ill., and Nathan Schnellenberger of Jasper, Ind.

Also surviving from a previous marriage are seven grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two children, four sisters, three brothers and one grandchild.

Joe was an Army veteran of World War II who served in France and the Philippines where he prepared for the invasion of Japan. After the bomb was dropped, he served in Japan with the occupation forces. He also served on the Al-Can Highway with Operation Snowshoe.

Joe worked as a drainage contractor with Schnellenberger Tiling from 1962 to 1984. Joe was a 55-year member of Ogden Masonic Lodge 754.

Memorials may be made to the donor's choice.