Special Issues

I would like to take a moment to pray for the peace of members of the homeless community that we have lost this past year. There is no obituary mentioning family and their accomplishments. Their voice is quiet but their value is great as everyones’ is. They are children of God and will be missed […]

Bill Holland arrived in Springfield modestly but stayed for almost a half-century and became a revered public servant, mostly out of public sight. What brought him here was a one-year internship after graduating from Seattle University in 1974 with a degree in public affairs. He was hired on full time by the House Democratic staff […]

We lost our sister, Diane Bantner, on June 23, 2024, to non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver which turned to cancer. Diane worked in the pathology department at Memorial for 45 years before retiring. She started with Dr. Grant Johnson. She was a little intimidated by him at first, but then became good friends with him. […]

Barb’s parents were Fred and Doris Brown. In 1966 they allowed me to marry their daughter. This began a wonderful loving 58-year marriage. During those years the two of us grew up together. The first four years we were apart due to the military, the last 54 together every night. Barb had a love of […]

Phil Kennedy was the type who never met a stranger. While chatting with someone for the first time, it would indubitably be discovered they knew a person in common or were even related. His gregarious personality delighted in these reveals. He loved music and could often be found volunteering downtown and at Jerryfest. If there […]

“When we took all the crap off it” – the crap being ill-considered “modernizations” that had turned a handsome 19th century commercial building into an ugly 20th century one – “we had a building that was simply stunning.” That was Carolyn Oxtoby, recalling the eureka moment when she became alive to the wisdom (and the […]

Karen is missed very much, and her contributions to her community were many. Her kindness was extraordinary as well as her heart. Her knowledge of many topics and issues was amazing and her resources very broad. She could be tough yet compassionate, realistic but a visionary, and was committed to helping anyone in need, stranger […]

Fred Edmonds was well-known throughout Springfield and the central Illinois area as a performing musician and also as a loving family man and friend. He was a lifelong resident of Springfield, graduating from Southeast High School and working for 33 years at Honeywell Hobbs. Quiet and reserved by nature, Fred came alive when the drumsticks […]

The Jacksonville community owes a debt of gratitude to local businessman, volunteer and all-around good guy Robert E. “Bob” Chipman. “Bob was good at whatever he did, whether it was loaning money, selling real estate or giving his time to organizations that were important to him and to Jacksonville,” said Joy French Becker, president and […]

Grandmas hold a special place in our lives. They share with us knowledge of the past and inspire us as role models for the future. I truly believe that my grandma, Jennie Moriconi Likens, was one of the best grandmas anybody could ask for. Jennie was born in Springfield to a family of hard-working Italian […]

Steven wanted to be a psychologist since he was 8 years old and was adamant that he never wanted to retire. He was working until the day he left this earthly life on June 24, 2024. He embodied the phrase “still waters run deep.” He was a professional listener and a selfless servant to anyone […]