Pauline and I met for the first time in 2004 at breakfast with other night shift nurses and assistants. “Oh my,” I said to myself as a large Pauline with a butch haircut joined us. Her ple]]> ]]> On June 20 the community lost a valued colleague and friend. Joe Hennessy, exhibits design chief at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, shared his creativity and artistic talents with more than ]]> ]]> About the issue In this last edition of the year, Illinois Times once again takes a loving look back at a few of the Springield-area characters who died during the past year. We say characters beca]]> The solemn drone of bagpipes fills the cold winter air as hundreds of pensive mourners shuffle into the towering white stone church. Inside sits a family coping with the sudden, unexplainable loss of ]]> Each year when we put together our end-of-year obituary issue, I find myself wishing I had known these people, or known them better. I’d see Dr. Gordon Smith at community meetings, but never kne]]> On Nov. 6, I lost my husband of 42 years, Richard A. Luttrell. He lived in Springfield his entire life. He was a proud member of the 101st Airborne Association, A Co 2/327 Brigade (Separate) and serve]]> ]]> ]]> I’m not sure if Kim Hepworth could shatter a glass with her voice. To be sure, she had one of the most powerful singing voices I’ve ever heard. But even if she couldn’t pull off the ]]> No one has had a greater impact on the Springfield Fire Department than Pat Ward, say his friends and family. The former city commissioner was behind every major leap forward in the city’s fire ]]> ]]> About the issue In this last edition of the year, Illinois Times celebrates the lives of just a few of the Springfield-area people who have died during the past year. By reading their stories, you c]]>