Community & Lifestyle

“When I met Yvonne it wasn’t long after my father (had) passed away and I was very depressed … Yvonne taught me how to love instead of hate. She was so free-spirited … it was just contagious. Within a week of meeting Yvonne, I went from being this really dark, angry person to… just a […]

What makes my grandmother special to me is the unconditional love she shared with me and our family. By this, she will never be forgotten. My grandmother was a woman you could never get by with disrespecting. She stood for respect and honor to all who entered into her presence. She always expressed love to […]

Shary Elizabeth Alwardt never gave up. She was born with a hole in her heart, which was bad enough. She also had pulmonary hypertension, a rare condition in which arteries that carry blood to the lungs become narrow. It is progressive, nearly always fatal and almost never present without some underlying trigger such as emphysema. […]

“Welcome home!” This was the last text I received from my dad the day before he suddenly died of a heart attack. He sent it as my boyfriend and I were returning from a weeklong, much-overdue vacation. Not only did he let us borrow his brand-new Prius so we could save money on fuel during […]

The Legacy Theatre’s summer production of Legally Blonde was in full swing with just a few shows to go, when suddenly an integral part of the team was gone. The production had lost its musical director, Jason Goodreau. In shock at the sudden death of their colleague and happy-go-lucky friend, the cast and theater community […]

I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). And through his faith in Christ, Gordon Smith did much. He lived a long, full life. His achievements were many, as were the lives he touched and shaped. Gordon’s faith provided the foundation to his life, which he honored through service to […]

My mama, Carol Ann Witherbee Cray, was a beautiful, strong and caring soul. The smile on her face could light up the darkest of rooms. Her life had many obstacles along the way; she however never let any one of them stand in her way. She found a positive in every obstacle that was thrown […]

Aunt Catherine was born on Nov. 6, 1919. She was not a famous poet, actress, singer, dancer or celebrity. She was our Aunt. She married Thomas Calwell in 1949. He preceded her in death in 2007. They had twin sons that died shortly after birth. Never again were Tommy and Catherine blessed with children. Instead, […]

Cilla Sluga was a radical, a rebel, a rabble rouser, a revolutionary. She was also a daughter, mother, friend and lover. She died suddenly Nov. 8. She died much too young. There are still people with disabilities locked up in institutions. There are still prisoners jailed by an unjust system. Thousands of people around the […]

David Copley was last. He presided over Copley Press, one of the last large family-owned newspaper chains in America, and had no heirs. The company got its start in Illinois in 1905, when Ira Copley, his grandfather, acquired the Aurora Beacon-News. Copley Press also owned the State Journal-Register until 2007, when the Springfield paper and […]

Mike was truly a wonderful and selfless man. No matter what challenges he was facing at any given time, he always had a warm smile, hearty laugh and a story to share with anyone who was near him. He was extremely devoted to his wife and very proud of his children and grandchildren. Mike’s generosity […]

I lost my grandmother, Edna May Garner, on Aug. 7, 2012. She was born on Feb. 22, 1918, and was 94 years old when she passed. My grandmother practically raised me, and was the lifeline of my Dad’s side of the family. Shug, as she was affectionately known, was everything to me. Her white, three-story […]