Alberto Valenzuela – Conway, South Carolina

March 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Alberto Valenzuela passed into the arms of Jesus on March 28 at his home in Conway, South Carolina surrounded by family who loved him after a long and courageous battle with Frontal Temporal Lobe Dementia. Born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico on December 3, 1954, Alberto was the son of the late Aldelberto and Monica Dominguez Valenzuela.

He is survived by his care giver, Dr. Barbara J. Valenzuela, whom he married on December 30, 1982 in El Paso, Texas, three step-children Dale and Richard (Kim) Kirk of Gaston County, North Carolina, a step-daughter Karla Kirk Ridling and two step grandsons, Dmitry and Andrey Ridling all of Rock Hill, South Carolina. He leaves a brother, Hector (Dot) of Bristol, Rhode Island, sisters Leticia and Olivia and brother Manuel all of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico along with several aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. He also leaves his little Pomeranian, Penny.

In 1983, Beto came to the United States as a legal resident. He immediately began working any job he could find, first in the drill bits, then the orchards, a nursing home, and finally a good position at Wayne State University in Detroit where he put his wife through a Ph.D. program. From there, he transferred to Penn State University where he remained until his retirement 20 years later due to declining health. He learned to speak English by watching television and taking classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He studied diligently and on September 16, 2011, took his oath and became a citizen of the United States. People often referred to his sweet smile as he always had a smile on his face.

Beto was saved and baptized at the First Latin American Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan in November of 1988. He was never one to be out in front as a leader but he loved to serve in the church behind the scenes whether it was cleaning carpets or setting up and tearing down tables and chairs. He attended church in Erie, PA until declining health prevented him from going. He loved music, especially the old hymns and the Mexican corridos. Amazing Grace was his favorite. He gave cheerfully and graciously, giving far more than he received during his lifetime on this earth.

Beto was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, a brother and two sisters as well as five Pomeranians, Cinnamon, Abigail, Peanut, Mocha, and Nutmeg.

Funeral services have been entrusted to Pate Funeral Home, 301 S. Main St., Benton, Illinois.

A private service for the family will be held at the Pate Funeral Home in Benton, Illinois. Burial will follow in Shiloh Cemetery, Wittington, Illinois.

Memorial contributions in Alberto’s name may be made to, The East Lake Road Alliance Church in Erie, PA, Franklin Graham/Samaritan’s Purse, or a no-kill doggie rescue of one’s choice.

Online condolences may be at www.patefh.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Theodore Lee Shaw, Sr. – Benton, IL

March 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Theodore Lee Shaw, Sr., age 76, of Benton, IL passed away at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, March 28, 2020 at his home.

Mr. Shaw’s wishes were to be cremated, and a Memorial Celebration of Life Service will be held at a future date. The Leffler Funeral Home of Benton; is in charge of the arrangements.

Theodore Lee Shaw was born on October 8, 1943 in Salem, Illinois; the son of Cecil Everett Shaw and Marie (Waggoner) Shaw. He would marry the former Lilymae (Wormley) Marsh on August 18, 1981, and she survives.

He worked as a stock clerk for Dyel’s IGA, and later worked as a self-employed delivery driver, delivering mail to the rural small-town post offices throughout our region.

Ted enjoyed playing BINGO and slot machines. He enjoyed traveling; and especially enjoyed spending time with his family.

He was of the Baptist faith.

Mr. Shaw is survived by, his loving wife of 38 years, Lilymae Shaw of Benton; four children: Theodore Lee Shaw, Jr. and wife Cathy of Salem, IL, David Shaw and wife Michelle of Salem, IL, Tracy Shaw of Effingham, IL,

Lowell Christopher Shaw and wife Jeannie of Salem, IL; three grandchildren: Michael Shaw, Stephanie Shaw and Siera Shaw; a great-granddaughter Lilyann; a sister Lola Fay Sipes of Shreveport, LA; a step-son Alan Marsh of Benton; a step-daughter Natalie Hall of Florida; a step-grandson Skylar Hall of Indianapolis, IN; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and nine siblings: Madelene, John, Kenneth, Fred, Jack, Delores, Betty, Emma, and Clyde.

To leave online condolences to the family, or to share memories of Ted, visit lpfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Luther L. Phillips – Coello, IL

March 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Luther L. Phillips, 62, of Coello, IL, passed away on March 29, 2020 at the Herrin Hospital.

He was born on January 6, 1958 in Coello, IL to Luther and Margaret (Swofford) Phillips Sr. He is survived by his brothers and sisters Debbie (Alan) Chapman of Coello, Abby (Danny) Hampton of Mulkeytown, Cindy (John) Monari of Buckner, Steve (Christina) Phillips and Marty Phillips of Mulkeytown.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters Rosie Spears and Ruby Williams and one brother Jeffrey Phillips. He was a Veteran of the United States Army. His wishes were to be cremated.

Filed Under: Obituaries

Phyllis Ann Gusentine – Macedonia, Illinois

March 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Phyllis Ann Gusentine, age 77, of Macedonia, IL, passed away at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at the McLeansboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center.

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the family chose to cremate, and there will be no planned public services.

The Leffler Funeral Home of Benton; is in charge of the arrangements.
Phyllis was born on January 19, 1943 in Franklin County, IL, the daughter of Raymond Payne and Marcella (Waggoner) Payne.

She formerly worked in the deck rigging department at Mark Twain Boat Factory of West Frankfort; and in later years she was a healthcare attendant sitting with the sick and elderly.

Phyllis enjoyed fishing, cooking, crocheting and knitting.

She was a member of the Webb’s Prairie Free Will Baptist Church, Ewing, IL.
Phyllis is survived by her son: Jesse Ed Herndon of Macedonia, IL; two grandsons: Tyler Herndon and wife Jennifer of Knoxville, TN, and Eric Herndon of Bloomington, IN; a sister-in-law: Mary Lou Payne of Macedonia, IL; two nephews: Doug Payne and Chuck Payne.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and a brother Kenneth Raymond Payne.

To leave online condolences to the family, or to share memories of Mrs. Phyllis Gusentine, visit lpfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Richard Ronald Foltz — West Frankfort, Illinois

March 27, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Richard Ronald Foltz, age 83 of West Frankfort, IL, passed away at 11:17 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at his home in West Frankfort.

Mr. Foltz’s wishes were to be cremated. A memorial Celebration of Life service will be held at a future date.

The Leffler Funeral Home of Benton; is in charge of the arrangements.
Richard was born on March 29, 1936 in Washington, DC, the son of Zelzbur Lawrence Foltz and Margaret Cecelia (Becker) Foltz. He married the former Joyce Pugh in 1968, and she survives.

Richard was a veteran of the United States Navy.

He was a self-made handy man, and worked at various jobs throughout his life.
Mr. Foltz was a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church of Tallahassee, FL; and enjoyed worshiping and fellowshipping with his church family.
He enjoyed gardening, fishing, and especially enjoyed spending time with his family.

Richard is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Joyce Foltz of West Frankfort, IL; a daughter Tammy Wemmer and husband Bradley of West Frankfort, IL; a grandson Richard Adam Traylor and wife Kirstin of Lincoln, IL; ten great-grandchildren including, Savanah, Matthew, Cloe, Oliver, Kylie, William, Saphire, Aierel, Hunter, and Logan; five brothers: Arthur Foltz, Stan Foltz, Russell Foltz, David Foltz, Paul Wayne Foltz; a sister Joyce Foltz; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers: Vernon Foltz and Eugene Foltz; a sister Irene Foltz; and a great-grandchild Raven.
To leave online condolences to the family, or to share memories of Richard, visit lpfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Patricia Ann Anderson — Benton, Illinois

March 27, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Patricia Ann Anderson, age 61, of Benton, passed away at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 26, 2020 at the Benton Rehabilitation and Health Care Benton.

Private Family Graveside Services will be held Sunday, March 29, 2020 at the Jackson Grove Cemetery with Pastor Don Bullard officiating. Visitation services are Private Family only. The Leffler Funeral Home of Benton is in charge of the arrangements.

Patricia was born on August 4, 1958 in Benton, IL, the daughter of James William Booker and Wilma Fay (Summers) Booker. She married Dennis Rich on August 7, 1976 and he preceded her in death on November 17, 1998. On September 26, 2003 she married Clay William Anderson, and he survives.

She was a longtime housekeeper with Severin Intermediate Care Nursing Home (Stonebridge) of Benton, and she was a member of the West City Baptist Church.

Patty enjoyed music, especially Gospel music; working in her garden; traveling; and spending time with her family.

Surviving is her loving husband Clay Anderson of Benton; two children: Kevin Rich and wife Firlyn of Collinsville, IL, and Amanda Rusher and husband Alex of Copperas Cove, TX; her mother Wilma Fay Booker of Benton, IL; two brothers: James B. Booker of Benton, IL, and David W. Booker and wife Mona of West Frankfort, IL; a grandchild Rowan Rich; two step-children: Matthew Anderson and wife Veronica of Oklahoma City, OK, and Tara Stubblefield and husband Gabriel of Apex, NC; five step-grandchildren: Evan Stubblefield, Ava Stubblefield, Reagan Anderson, Grant Anderson, and Lincoln Anderson; father and mother-in-law: William E. and Carolyn Anderson; Clay’s siblings: Terry Anderson, Catherine Tinsley and husband Eddie, and Timothy Anderson; several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father.

To leave online condolences to the family, or to share memories of Patty, visit www.lpfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Robert “Butch” Spain – Waltonville, IL

March 26, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Robert “Butch” Spain, 73, of Waltonville, IL passed away Thursday morning, March 26, 2020 at his home.

Mr. Spain was born in Franklin County, IL on October 2, 1946, the son of Homer & Mary Ann (Harrell) Spain. His foster parents were Harold and Louise Braden.

He married Connie R. (Hicks) on June 19, 1971.

Mr. Spain was a member of the UMWA & the Mt. Vernon Free Will Baptist Church. He was blessed with a bilateral lung transplant on June 17, 2006.

Mr. Spain is survived by his wife, Connie Spain, of Waltonville, one son, Robert “Bob” Spain, Jr. and Erica Huntman, of Waltonville; one daughter, Penny Wright, and husband Jeremy, Granite City, IL; five grandchildren, Maranda Spain, Austin Spain, Andrew Wright, Jackson Wright and Ahna Wright; great-grandson, Weston Spain-Avants; four sisters, Helen Davis, and husband, Richard, of Benton, IL, Sue McGill, and husband Gary, of Benton, Linda Taylor, of Junction, IL and Louise Minton, and husband Alan, of Christopher, IL; one brother, Charles Spain, of Benton; sister-in-law Jan Spain, of Du Quoin, IL; aunt Jenny Lee Braden, of Benton, mother-in-law Maxine Hicks, of Waltonville; brother-in-law Mike Hicks, of Waltonville; several nieces and nephews.

Mr. Spain was preceded in death by his parents, foster parents, two brothers and one sister in infancy; one brother, Paul Spain, and by his father-in-law-the Rev. Clifford Hicks.

Private Services will be held.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Spain family.
For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.johnstonfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries

Bettie Mary Lee Stephenson-Almo, KY

March 25, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Bettie Mary Lee Stephenson, age 82, of Almo, Kentucky, died on Monday, March 23, 2020, at her home, due to natural causes.

Mrs. Stephenson was born in Christopher, Illinois on July 7, 1937. Mrs. Stephenson before retiring was employed at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, more recently she worked at Jakel in Murray. She was of the Lutheran Faith.

Mrs. Stephenson was preceded in death by her father, Oscar Walker; her mother, Frances (Smith) Walker Bateman; her husband, James H. Stephenson, who died in 1971; and by one brother, Ray Walker. Mrs. Stephenson is survived by one son, Harold Stephenson and wife Vicky of Almo, Kentucky; one sister, Carol King and husband Kenny of Zeigler, Illinois; one brother, Gene Walker and wife Dina of Chillicothe, Illinois; two grandchildren, Harry Stephenson and Nicole Parker and husband Justin all of Murray; as well as one great – grandchild, Lola Parker of Murray; as well as a sister-in-law, Connie Walker of Murray; also several nieces and nephews.

Due to the current events surrounding the viral pandemic of the coronavirus, the Stephenson family will have a private visitation and graveside service to respect the government guidelines.

Filed Under: Obituaries

Rend Lake College mourns loss of original board member, Dr. Allen Y. Baker

March 25, 2020 By Leave a Comment

INA, Ill. — His name is adorned on the Administration Building at Rend Lake College, but his legacy lives throughout institutions across Illinois as “the man who has done more for community colleges of the state than any other.”

Those were the words of Shawnee Community College President Dr. Loren Klaus in 1979 in a letter recognizing the efforts of RLC board member Dr. Allen Y. Baker. At that ceremony in 1979, Dr. Baker was the first person in RLC history to have a building named after him. His contributions to Rend Lake College and community colleges across the state were immeasurable in the 1960s and 70s. Baker passed away March 13 in Florida. He was 98 years old.

Baker is a part of RLC’s story from the very beginning. He was elected to the first ever RLC Board in 1966. In March 1969, Baker and six fellow board members stood in a cornfield and broke ground on what would become RLC’s Ina campus. He would serve on the Board of Trustees until he decided not to run for re-election in 1979 and he was Board Chairman from 1970-1974.

“Dr. Baker created a great legacy at Rend Lake College that is evident on our campus today and will be well into the future. We respect and appreciate the impact Dr. Baker had on Rend Lake College and the Illinois community college system,” said RLC President Terry Wilkerson.

Baker’s fingerprints are all over the formation and development of Rend Lake College. He served on the Steering and Executive Committees for Perry County and played a significant role in making Pinckneyville part of the RLC district. He was involved in site selection and hiring of RLC’s first President. He helped select an architect and passed a bond issuance for $1.3 million to construct the original campus. And he helped develop RLC’s Master Plan, guiding RLC to be the first community college in the state to complete a Master Plan.

But his contributions to community college infrastructure did not end in Southern Illinois. In 1965, Illinois passed the Public Community College Act and leaders around the state stepped up to guide and enact this new comprehensive plan. Allen served as RLC’s representative to the Illinois Community College Trustees Association since its founding and served two terms as the ICCTA Chairman. It was with the ICCTA where Baker fought successfully to establish equalization funding, which allows areas with lower assessed values to receive fair funding and keep community college costs low for students around the state. While Baker was president of the ICCTA, all 39 community colleges in Illinois joined the organization. The ICCTA named Baker a lifetime Honorary Member.

Baker also served on the Illinois Community College Advisory Committee on Community College Finance, the Governor’s Advisory Committee to State Community College in East St. Louis, the Illinois State Scholarship Commission and as the ICCTA’s liaison to the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

It was at RLC’s May 2008 graduation ceremony where Baker made one more great contribution to the college. On the commencement stage, he announced he and his wife Stella were going to establish the Dr. Allen Y. Baker and Stella Baker Scholarship Fund. The Bakers donated a $100,000 endowment to start the scholarship, which was one of the largest in the history of the college. The scholarship was set up to help Pinckneyville High School students looking to attend RLC. Baker practiced as an optometrist in Pinckneyville for nearly half a century.

“The people of Pinckneyville were so good to me over the 48 years I practiced there. I wanted to repay those who trusted me with their vision care and enabled us to enjoy the wonderful life we have today,” he said in 2008.

The Bakers retired to Clearwater, Fla. after spending more than 40 years in Pinckneyville. Dr. Baker and Stella met in Fort Lewis, Wash. and were married in 1948 in Pinckneyville. Stella passed away May 13, 2012. The Bakers donated considerable property and artwork to the Rend Lake College Foundation. To establish other scholarships, they donated an antique automobile and real estate.

Currently, there are no services scheduled for Baker. The family has chosen Rend Lake College as one of the organizations to receive donations in memory of Dr. Allen Baker. Gifts can be made online at www.rlc.edu/give-now.

Filed Under: Featured

Virginia Browning Genisio Stoffel – Benton, IL

March 24, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Virginia Browning Genisio Stoffel, 93, of Benton passed away on March 22, 2020 in Benton.

She was born in Valier, IL on September 20, 1926, the daughter of H. L. & Hazel M. (Mackey) Browning.

She married Barnie Genisio on April 29, 1945 and he preceded her in death on January 5, 1994. She then married James “Calvin” Stoffel on October 22, 1994 and he survives.

Virginia was a member of the Order of Eastern Star LeRoy A. Chapter #350 in Marion, IL. Virgina was also a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton.

Virginia is survived by her husband, James “Calvin” Stoffel; son Stephen Genisio, and wife Karla, of Benton; daughter-in-law Judy West, and husband Richard, of Benton; step-daughter Nancy Schultz Vitangeli, and husband Scott, of Portland, OR; grandchildren Amie Monteggia, and husband Joe of Coello, Chad Genisio, and wife Heather, of Benton, Stephanie Stayton, and fiancé Matt Stubblefield, of Elkville, Nathan Genisio, and wife Jenna, of Benton, Danielle Schultz, of Oregon, Alexander Schultz, and wife Zoe, of New York; 11 great-grandchildren, Shae Moore & husband Matt of Tennessee, Korben Monteggia, of Coello, Kylie, Braden and Brody Genisio, of Benton, Gavin, Jaxon and Kayson Genisio, of Benton, Ashlyn Stayton, of Elkville and Gunner and Kynsleigh Stubblefield, of Elkville; two great-grandsons, Leo and Levi Moore, of Tennessee, several nieces and nephews, lifelong friends Larry and Alda McIntyre.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, a son, Paul Genisio, grandson, Eric Paul Genisio, brother and sister-in-law-Lee & Jane Browning and step-son-Dennis Stoffel.

Private Family services will be held.

For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.mortonjohnstonfuneralhome.com

Filed Under: Obituaries
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