Morris Davis

SIDNEY – Morris Davis, 89, of Sidney, formerly of Longview, died at 6:15 a.m. Tuesday (April 25, 2017) at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, April 29, at Sidney Christian Church, 305 E. Main St., Sidney, the Rev. Barry West officiating. Burial will be in Fairfield Cemetery, Newman. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. Freese Funeral Home, 202 W. Main St., Sidney, assisted with arrangements.

Debra S. Wright

OGDEN — Debra S. Wright, 63, of Ogden died at 3:28 p.m. Sunday (April 23, 2017) at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 28, at the Ogden Church of the Nazarene, the Rev. J.D. Garlock officiating. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, Sidney. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory, Urbana.

Debra was born on Oct. 2, 1953, in Fort Wayne, Ind., the daughter of John Michael and Hope

Ramos Eavey, who survive in Fort Wayne. She married Terrill Wright on Aug. 5, 1970, in Urbana; he survives.

Also surviving are her children, Jennifer S. (Kevin) Budd of Fort Wayne, Ind., John Ryan Wright of St. Joseph, Josiah (Jami) Wright of New Haven, Ind., James (Bailee) Wright of Fithian, Joel Wright of Fithian, Jordan (Brittany) Wright of Ogden and Jillayna (Steven) Skinner of Tolono, brother, Michael (Amy) Eavey of Fort Wayne, Ind.; sister, Teresa (Paul) Smith of Shelbyville, Tenn.; and 10 grandchildren.

Debra attended the Ogden Church of the Nazarene.

Debra loved sewing, embroidering,

cooking, Southern gospel music and, most importantly, her grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ogden Church of the Nazarene.

Condolences may be offered at www.rennerwikoffchapel. com.

WRIGHT

Bill Williams

ST. JOSEPH – Bill Williams, 78, of St. Joseph passed away at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday (April 19, 2017) at Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Danville.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with Pastor Paul Dinges officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Olive Cemetery, Mayview. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. at the funeral home.

Bill was born in Kingston, Pa., on March 8, 1939, to Ralph and Charlotte Pugh Williams.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Ralph Jr. and Jack; as well as a sister, Rachel Richards.

He is survived by a son, William "Billy" M. (Tram) Williams Jr. of Monticello; a daughter, Brenda (Rick) Kinkade of Mahomet; as well as six grandchildren, Shane (Erin) Bryant of Beresford, S.D., Kristen Bryant of Mahomet, Kevin Bryant of Mahomet, Heather (Tim) Schrage of Quincy, Derek Williams of Monticello and Zack Kinkade of Mahomet; also stepson, David (Julia) Cross of Urbana; stepdaughter, Lisa (Jeff) Bathe of Hudson; step-grandchildren, Bryan Bathe of Hudson and Isabel Cross of Urbana; as well as seven great-grandchildren.

Bill worked at Meadow Gold Dairy for 37 years, retiring just before it closed in 1996. He then worked at St. Joseph High School and drove a school bus.

Bill was married to Judith Heggenbart and later married Phyllis Swanson, both survive.

He served on the St. Joseph Fire Department for three years, and in the U.S. Air Force for four years at Chanute Air Force Base and two years in the reserves. He served as vice president of the Meadow Gold Credit Union for two years.

In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, donations may be made to the donor's choice.

Mary Carson Fisher

ST. JOSEPH – Mary Fisher, 72, of St. Joseph passed away on Sunday morning (April 16, 2017) at the Champaign County Nursing Home, Urbana.

Funeral services will be at noon Tuesday at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with Pastor Paul Dinges officiating. Burial will be in Patterson Cemetery, St. Joseph. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the funeral home.

Mary was born on July 2, 1944, at Champaign, the daughter of Raymond and Naomi Leonard Carson. She married Glen Fisher on June 5, 1965, at St. Joseph. He survives.

Also surviving are a daughter, Leslie Fisher of Champaign; granddaughter, Karsyn Peters of St. Joseph; and two sisters, Carol Walker and Deanna Judy, both of St. Joseph.

She was preceded in death by her parents; son, Andrew; and daughter, Karen Fisher-Peters.

Mary worked at the American Savings and Loan in St. Joseph, later Busey Bank.

She was active in her church, St. Joseph United Methodist Church.

She enjoyed following St. Joseph-Ogden sports. She also her Friday morning breakfast on game days.

Frank Carter

ST. JOSEPH – Frank Carter, 84, of St. Joseph died at 10:53 p.m. Friday (April 14, 2017) at Clark-Lindsey of Urbana.

Frank was born in Wayne County on Dec. 5, 1932, to Johnnie R. Carter and Eva (Melrose) Carter. He attended school in Flora and later in Urbana where he graduated from Urbana High School in 1952.

He served in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Amarillo, Texas.

He married the love of his life, Luella Joyce Hall, on July 23, 1960, in Champaign and they shared 51 years of marriage together. She preceded him in death on Dec. 26, 2011.

They raised three children, Lenore Shaffer (deceased), Curtis (Angela) Carter of St. Joseph and Judith (Rand) Broutin of Edwards, Ill.

Other survivors include grandchildren, LeAnne (Tyler) Uden of Monticello, Joseph Shaffer of Wisconsin, Stephanie (Chase) Gilliland of St. Joseph, Derek Carter of St. Joseph, Taylor Broutin of Edwards and Cord (Cassie) Shaffer; and great-grandchildren, Carson, Cutler, Colton Uden, Camden Yette, Josiah and Canaan Shaffer.

He was the oldest of 10 siblings of which four now survive, Ken (Fran) Carter, Sharon Brost, Lynda (Dale) Matejkowski and J.D. Carter.

He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, Russell, Carroll Ray, Larry and Jerry; and one sister, Elnora.

Frank worked as a building service worker at the University of Illinois and Kobelt Apartments.

He was an active member of the Church of Christ in St. Joseph, where he served many years as a deacon. He also attended Weber Street Church of Christ.

He was also a member and past commander of the St. Joseph American Legion. He belonged to the St. Joseph Senior Citizens.

Frank enjoyed talking with others, watching the weather and spending time with family and friends.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., St. Joseph, with David Barcus officiating. Entombment will take place at Mount Hope Cemetery, Urbana. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Kevin Brown

ST. JOSEPH – Kevin Lester Brown was born on May 18, 1959, to Wayne Brown and Susanne Middleton Brown in Madison, Wis.

He deeply loved his three siblings, Becky (Teresa Souders) Brown of New Glarus, Wis., Christopher (Gretchen) Brown of Stoughton, Wis., and Kathy (Rick) Monson of Monroe, Wis.

He also cherished his nieces (Emily and Samantha Monson) and nephews (A.J. and Chander Brown).

In 2000, Kevin married Amy Fischer in Madison. They moved to St. Joseph, Ill., in 2005. They had a large four-legged family and provided a loving foster home to countless shelter animals over the years.

Kevin was famous for his handcrafted cat trees, which he happily made for friends and family, and also donated to various animal-related charities.

Kevin was a highly skilled heavy-equipment operator and enjoyed a long career in construction, both as an operator and in management. In Illinois, he was employed with Stark Excavating (Champaign).

Upon retirement in 2014, he began to explore and develop other talents, such as welding, woodworking, gardening and arboriculture.

He also provided extensive and invaluable behind-the-scenes support for his wife's professional activities in Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois.

Kevin joined his heavenly Father on April 8, 2017. He was truly a selfless, kind and generous man. He will be deeply missed.

A celebration of Kevin's life will be held on Saturday, April 22, at the Homer Lake Forest Preserve (Salt Fork Center). It will be an open house from 4 to 8 p.m., with a brief service at 5 p.m.

An additional celebration will be held in Madison on Sunday, April 30, at Warner Park, with an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a service at 11:30 a.m.

Parties wishing to make memorial donations are offered suggestions of the Danville Rescue Mission or their local animal shelter.

Arrangements were handled by Kirby Funeral Home, Homer.

Orthalyne Alise Rohl Ressler

HOMER – Orthalyne Alice Ressler, 92, of Homer passed away at 2:28 p.m. Friday, April 14, 2017, at Newman Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Newman.

Funeral services will be private. Burial will take place in GAR Cemetery, Homer. Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. on Monday, April 17, at Kirby Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St., Homer.

Orthalyne was born November 14, 1924, in Homer, the oldest child of William and Thelma Heselden Rohl. She married Paul Johnson in 1946. He preceded her in death. She then married Bob Ressler.

She is survived by one granddaughter, Stephanie, and two great-grandchildren in Pennsylvania; two brothers, Orville Rohl of Homer and Bill (Marti) Rohl of St. Joseph; many nieces and nephews; stepchildren; step-grandchildren; and step-great-grandchildren.

She was also preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Barbara; two sisters, Olive Neilhaus and Betty Irwin; and sister-in-law, Mary Ann Rohl.

Orthalyne lived many years in Ohio and Pennsylvania, until returning to Homer in 1987. She worked at the Homer Library for several years. She was a member of Art Needle Club and Eastern Star. She loved to read, sew and knit.

The family would like to thank the entire staff of Newman Rehabilitation and Health Care Center for all their care and loving support.

Memorials can be to Homer Fire Department or GAR Cemetery.