Saturday, October 29, 2016

Obit of Frances (Kerrins) Cote

Phillipsburg, KS resident, Frances E. Cote, passed away Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016 at the Hays Medical Center in Hays, KS at the age of 69. She was born October 31, 1946 in Ottawa, Illinois the daughter of Leo & Josephine (Hanley) Kerrins. Frances was united in marriage to Ralph J. Cote on April 15, 1967 in Kankakee, Illinois. He survives. Other survivors include her two daughters, Shelly Cote & Kelly Cote, both of Phillipsburg, her son, Thomas Cote of Amarillo, TX; ½ sister, Kathy Deminsky of Sun City, AZ; 8 grandchildren; & 8 great grandchildren. Cremation was planned. Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, October 20, 2016 in the First Christian Church, Phillipsburg, with Pastor LeRoy Herder officiating. Friends may sign the book from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with family receiving friends for visitation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. that evening. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fresenius Dialysis Center of Hays.

Frances E. Cote

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Obit of Verna (Gillett) Moulton


MOULTON, Verna Lee (Gillett) “Vee” 82, passed away peacefully into the loving arms of our Lord, on October 8, 2016, after a brief illness. 
She was born February 20, 1934, in rural Chatsworth, Illinois, the first of six children to Edna M. (Lee) Gillett and Paul M. Gillett. Verna graduated from Chatsworth High School in 1951. She married Danny M. Moulton, Forrest, IL in 1952, and his career in the US Air Force took them on a journey which eventually led to Austin, Texas. Vee’s walk on this planet was bountiful, a life well lived. Together she and Danny created a sanctuary home on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas where deep friendships, their love of the lake, respect for nature and their committed and loving partnership multiplied. Friends and family recall good times sitting with Vee on the back deck drinking a cool one while watching the lake and the hummingbirds guzzling her homemade nectar. She will be missed by all those who knew and loved her, including the many cardinals, wrens, finches, doves and other avian friends who dined in style at Vee’s feeders. Whether alone or with others she enjoyed easy listening music, and of course, Elvis. Along side Danny, she also “served her country” as a career civil servant and military wife. Passion was a key ingredient in all of Vee’s endeavors, as she never did anything half way. Business owner, prolific gardener, diligent, artistic and patient doll house miniaturist, accomplished fisherman, Sudoku solver, Master bowler, expert marksman, gourmet fudge maker, skilled water skier, champion of Samoyed dogs, friend, adored wife and mother − all these bore the mark of her vigor, loyalty, dedication and love. Her golf cart became her chariot and lifeline to neighbors, friends and continuous projects on the Lake. Her sanctuary home at the Lake remained “the place” in her Heart. Vee, is preceded in death by her parents and husband, Danny. She is survived by her daughter Terri Patterson (Mike) of Houston, her siblings all of Illinois--Janice Jensen, Piper City, Anita Johnson (Bob) Naperville, Warren Gillett (Melanie) Fairbury, Marlene Fuoss, Fairbury, Darlene Kratz (Jim) Springfield, Sister-in-law Edie Moulton, Fairbury, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. The family expresses their gratitude to the sensitive caregivers at The Legacy at Crystal Falls, and also extends their deep appreciation to the excellent and caring doctors and nursing staff that attended Vee in the ICU at the University Medical Center Brackenridge, Austin, Texas. She will be laid to rest alongside her husband and soul mate Danny, at The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Illinois (pending). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to a US Veterans Organization of choice or to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 105 S. 6th Street, Chatsworth, IL 60921.


Monday, October 17, 2016

Time Capsule finds New Home

From the Daily Leader
Oct. 15, 2016
By Luke Smucker
 Within the past decade, there has been a resurgence in people’s interest in their own genealogy, as well as the history of the place where they live. Is the speed of technology moving too fast? Or have we, as a society, pushed so hard to get ahead that it made us long for what we left behind? 
Dave Hornickel, a Germanville farmer and historian, recently gave a time capsule to the Baltz Library of Chatsworth Township for safe keeping. Inside the time capsule were documents ranging from the 1890s to the 1960s.
“Chatsworth had a cornerstone and they put a time capsule in it with things from 1941,” Al Freehill, a local attorney, who grew up in Germanville, recalls “The idea was that every 25 years they would reopen it. So, in 1966, they did. They held a big gathering and then they opened up the time capsule, took a look inside and eventually added to the time capsule before putting it away for another 25 years,” Freehill said. “Then, about 25 years later, they stopped using the town hall.” 
Hornickel said, at the time, the plan was to tear the town hall down because it was going to cost a lot to repair. The plan was to build a new town hall in its place, but nothing ever happened. So, the time capsule was given to Hornickel’s family for safe keeping. After years and years of hanging onto this time capsule, Hornickel wanted to do something special with it. So, he asked Freehill what to do. “David came into my office several months ago and asked what he should do with this time capsule. My thought was to donate it to the library. So, we called up Mary and she was fine with it,” Freehill said. “The content of the capsule is mostly focused on Germanville.” 
In addition to newspapers of the time, the time capsule contained minutes from old Germanville Club meetings and a guest book, as well as minutes from a Germanville Woman’s Club meeting. “There were more clubs back then than I realized,” Hornickel said. “We also found a picture that features the Germanville officials during 1966 and their names on the back. Someone also put in a document that lists all the teachers at the time and what they were paid, as well as a document with the names of all elected town officials that starts back in 1893. A lot of the old Chatsworth names are in there.” Library director Mary Fisher-Miller said the time capsule will eventually be on display with a lot of other local historic items, for Chatsworth’s sesquicentennial, next year.

“I don’t intend to bury it again,” she said. “I think we’ll store it in the safe and next year, all the glass cases will be on display with this material. It will also be available for anyone who wants to do research.” 
This may be the end for the time capsule, but by donating it to the library, all involved hope it will be of use to people who may be doing genealogy research. They also hope that similar items will be donated by community members who may have local historic materials they no longer wish to hold on to. 
“When I cleaned out my mother’s house, we were rushed for time, but now I think of all the things I threw away. If I had two more months, I would have preserved a lot of that. Things like letters my uncle had sent from overseas when he was in the war,” Fisher-Miller said. “What frustrates me the most about losing those letters, is that it’s such a lost past time. I remember how fun it was to get a letter out of the mailbox from my grandmother or somebody. Nobody really writes letters anymore. We’ve started to lose that art of communication, but time is cyclical and we’re going to come back and we’ll have this decade or two of lost stuff because we’re in such a hurry to move on to the next new thing.” 
In addition to holding onto local historic artifacts, Fisher-Miller said the library is also in the process of raising money to digitize all the old issues of the Chatsworth Plaindealer newspaper. The goal is to put them on a CD that would allow people to search for specific terms or people and then get a listing of all articles that feature that name or keyword for viewing. “I think there has been a resurgence in people being interested in their history,” Fisher-Miller said. “All of a sudden people are really interested in their roots. They are really interested in embracing their heritage".
L. to R. Mary Fisher-Miller, David Hornickel, Al Freehill.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Chatsworth Girl on the Radio

From WJEZ:
Join Dana on Saturdays and Sundays, Noon-6 as she helps you to enjoy your weekends! Dana resides in Pontiac and has lived in the surrounding area (Chatsworth)  her whole life. She is a graduate from Bradley University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. Her job at WJEZ is her first experience in radio, but that hasn’t stopped her from diving head first into being on-air. Dana enjoys the fast-paced and ever-changing qualities of her job and is excited to see how her education can help grow the station.
Dana

Friday, October 7, 2016

Obit of Florence (Heideman) Wycoff

Florence Ada Wycoff, 82, of Piper City, IL., died 3:30 A.M., Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at HCR ManorCare in Champaign, IL. Her funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M., Monday, October 10, 2016 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Gilman with Pastor Pete Hinrich officiating. Burial will be in the Charlotte Chatsworth Cemetery, Chatsworth, IL. Visitation will be from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M., Sunday, October 9, 2016 at the Redenius Funeral Home in Gilman, IL. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Gilman. Florence was born in Danforth, IL., on December 15, 1933 to Herman and Emma (Sparenberg) Heideman. Her childhood was spent in Danforth and St. Anne. She attended rural schools and graduated from Gilman High School in 1951. She married Henry F.M. Wycoff in Danforth on January 26, 1952. He died August 1, 2007. Surviving children are Dee (Neil) Hall of Bedford, Iowa, Carolyn (Jamie) Hartman of Watseka, IL., Henry (Holly) Wycoff of St. Joseph, IL., Roger (Sandy) Wycoff of Piper City, IL., and Marcia (John) Hildenbrand of Thawville, IL. Nine Grandchildren. Ten Great-Grandchildren. One sister - Lois Jean Young of Castro Valley, CA. Brother-in-law - Lee Wycoff of Forrest, IL. Special friend - Pat Haskins of Piper City. Several nieces, nephews and cousins. Florence was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brother and sister-in-law - Tony and Betty Heideman, sister - Dorothy Heideman, , sister-in-law - Barb Wycoff and brother-in-law and sister-in-law - Clarence and Esther Bitner. She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Gilman and served in many ways. Florence was a member of Prayer & Faith Circle and St. Paul Women of the ELCA, serving many years as an officer on the board. She also served as president of the Northeast Conference WELCA board. Florence was a member of St. Paul's Sewing Circle and made many quilts for Lutheran World Relief. She served on the Church Council, Altar Guild and as a Sunday School teacher and greeter. Florence was a member of Modern Mrs. Home Extension. A 4-H volunteer and 4-H Hall of Fame 2010. Florence was a homemaker, farmer's wife, Avon Dealer, Bookkeeper, store clerk for Kelly's Department Store in Chatsworth and soil tester for United Soil Incorporated in Fairbury, IL. She enjoyed hosting family and friends at her home. Arrangements by the Redenius Funeral Home in Gilman, IL. Please sign the guest book at www.redeniusfuneralhome.com
Florence Ada Wycoff

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Obit of Mary (Bargman) Hornickel

Mary Louise Hornickel, 90, entered into eternal life at 11:55 A.M., Sunday, October 2, 2016 at Fairview Haven, Fairbury, Illinois. She was born October 30, 1925 in rural Piper City, IL., the daughter of Otis and Margareta (Folkerts) Bargman. Mary attended and graduated from Chatsworth School. She married Clyde Hornickel on February 16, 1925 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chatsworth. He preceded in her in death. She is survived by three daughters, Kay (Charles) Shoemaker, Piper City, Linda (Warren) Walker, Bloomington and Julie Hornickel, Chatsworth; three grandchildren, Jeff (Sheri) Shoemaker, Scott (Jamie) Shoemaker and Wendy (Tim) Marvel. Eight great-grandchildren and a special pet, Pandi. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, 2 brothers, 5 sisters and her husband. Mary was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chatsworth. She worked at the Citizens Bank of Chatsworth and the American Screen factory, but liked being a farmer's wife the best. She was a member of the Germanville Club and the Chatsworth Kitchen Band. She enjoyed spending the winters in Florida with Clyde; playing cards, bingo, puzzles and embroidering. Visitation will be on Thursday, October 6, 2016 from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The funeral will be held on Friday October 7, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. with Pastor Mauricio Vieira officiating. Also an one hour visitation before the service at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Chatsworth. Burial will be in the Charlotte Chatsworth Cemetery, Chatsworth. Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Chatsworth or Fairview Haven, Fairbury or to the OSF Hospice, Pontiac. Arrangements by the Redenius Funeral Home in Gilman, IL. Please sign the guest book at www.redeniusfuneralhomes.com

Mary Louise Hornickel