Community & Lifestyle

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 pleasant voice revealed a strong Boston accent as she spoke. Easy conversation followed, and I found myself liking her […]

It always seemed to take Albert Link a little longer than most to break down and make a part of his life the simple conveniences of everyday modern life. As often as he told his family, “I love you,” he also told them, “We don’t need it.” “But he would back that up,” said his […]

Raymond Edward Ohl was born July 23, 1928, in Parkersburg, W. Va. Dad served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Robert H. Smith, and was awarded several medals for his efforts of which we were all very proud. He married Eulalia DuBeck Oct. 14, 1950, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Assumption. Of that […]

For six years I’ve written poems for this publication. Many have included my daughter, Damaris Lee Jackson, born Jan. 15, 1954, in Oxford, England. She lived with me these past two years, while she was ill though seemingly well. She took her life Sept. 19. When Damaris was six she attended a children’s art class. […]

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 served in Vietnam in ’67-’68. He reconnected with many of his Vietnam comrades through the annual and biannual reunions. […]

I would like to celebrate the life of my mother, Irma Ridenour of Springfield. She was 88. Mom was a bookkeeper in Evansville, Ind., in the ’30s. She said that one of her accounts was Halliburton. (I guess they had oilwells in southern Indiana in the 1930s.) She told me once that she and some […]

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 protection services from 1975 to 1991, they say, and on top of it all, “he was just a really great guy.” […]

John was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, who served aboard the USS Otis, USS LaSalle and USS Bairoko. He attended seven reunions of the USS Bairoko. He received a replica of the ship’s bell, which hangs in our dining area. The children love to ring the bell. He was very proud to have served […]

Dr. Holland was born in a small town in West Virginia, the only child of his loving parents. He moved as a small boy to Kentucky and grew up on a tobacco farm. In 1955, he moved to Springfield and began quietly working to make our community a better place. Dr. Holland helped to create […]

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 4.2 million visitors since his arrival at the museum in 1989. His rich contributions to the arts extended beyond exhibition design to painting […]

This year, University of Illinois Springfield lost someone who has been with it from its inception. Denny Frueh was one of the first graduates of then Sangamon State University (Now U of I Springfield). He began his career as a rehabilitation counselor for the State of Illinois, before moving into an admissions counseling position for […]

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 because each was unique, each had their own special spark, even four-year-old Joshua Lytle, who loved to sing “Frere Jacques” […]