PATRICIA LEACH

Mom grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. She came of age as a bobbysoxer and married at age 17. The marriage of Patricia Atteberry and Lum Leach lasted more than 50 years, until his passing. It left quite the legacy of five kids, 13 grandchildren, and a crop of great-grandchildren that…

HOLLY ANN LIDY

Holly Ann Lidy was a beautiful young lady inside and out. Her sparkly personality and quick wit would put a smile on your face every time. Holly would give 100% to every task she faced whether it was studying for a test, improving her volleyball spike or maneuvering her 4-H pig around the show ring.…

THOMAS PAUL LEWIS

My dear son, Tom Lewis, passed away this year after succumbing to a long battle with cancer. He was the third generation of Thomas Lewis’s and his dad died in 2004. Tom was a very kind, sweet person and a talented musician who played blues guitar with several local bands, including The Debbie Ross Band…

ADRIENNE LORRAINE MCNEIL

With a love for the 1940s and vintage clothing, music, movies, poetry, books and superheros, Adrienne was born in the wrong era. Her two sisters, stepbrother, parents and stepparents miss her unique ways. Springfield Vintage hosted a pinup class where Adrienne discovered pinup contests to enter. She was killed in a car accident while traveling…

BARBARA ANN HARTMAN

Dr. Barbara Hartman had an insatiable curiosity for people, places and experiences. The 90 pinheads on her world map, indicating countries she had visited, were proof of that inquiring mind. Her small town Midwestern upbringing gave no hint of her passion for travel. After retiring from the University of Illinois Springfield in 1993, her husband,…

MERLE RAY HAYNES

Merle was born in Tovey, Illinois. He loved to talk about his service in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Levy DE162 where the signing of the Japanese surrender at Wake Island took place. He wrote a poem describing his time aboard ship that was published worldwide in the Navy newspaper. He had a witty…

JEANNIE MARIE “BEA” HANSEN

RICHARD MARTINIE

Our father, Richard “Dick” Martinie, and mother, Marian, started their family in 1950. They had three boys and a girl, all of whom were blessed by having them as parents. Pop was a school board member, a Cub Scout leader and an active PTA member while we were in school. He was also on the…

JAMES MACMAHON “MAC” GRAHAM

Mac Graham exemplified a life well lived. His love for his wife and family guided his every action while core values of faith, family and community permeated his life. Architecture was a calling which enabled him to express these values in churches, schools, hospitals and other buildings. His carefully considered designs inspire as places of…

CHARLES “CHUK” ROBERTSON

Grief shatters your world and the grief of the loss of my husband did just that. Though a lot of people believe he was only good for laughs, dirty jokes and pink bubble wrap, I knew better. Chuk was a man who was able to make you laugh when upset or smile when you were…

LINDSAY ANNE HEDGEPATH

My daughter, Lindsay, was a sweet blond-haired, blue-eyed child with a quick wit and wonderful sense of humor. She loved to draw and was a talented artist. She even tried her hand at writing and taught herself how to play the bass guitar. Her love for cooking stayed with her throughout her life and she…

LILLIAN SCOTT

Lillian was humble by all the definition of the word and honored by more generations than she knew. As a young woman, she was an amazing athlete who set records that earned her a place in the Women’s Hall of Fame for softball fastpitch. She was also well known for her rank in women’s golf…

MICHAEL GINGER

Mike was about the sweetest person you could ever meet. He would do anything for those he loved. His compassion and caring were always noticed by everyone he met. Every morning he would be at our house for breakfast and coffee with Charles. I always asked him how he was doing and he’d reply with…

W. JOSEPH “JOE” GIBBS

Dad was a state representative in the early 1970s. He loved Springfield very much. The city was always on his mind when he traveled as he was always searching other cities for ideas to make his better. One day we were in Denver waiting for a red stoplight to change to green so we could…

LEE E. KILBOURNE

Although I married into his family, Lee Kilbourne felt like a full-blooded grandpa to me. He was always available with a smile, a conversation or a compliment. He gave those generously. I cannot adequately summarize the consequential life of Lee in a few paragraphs. Suffice it to say that on Sept. 5, I lost a…

CRAIG MANNSCHRECK

Craig Mannschreck passed away in August after bravely battling lymphoma for three months, and he will be dearly missed by his team at Resource One and in the Springfield business community. He enjoyed dual citizenship, splitting his time between Springfield and his hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri. For 18 years, Craig was a weekday fixture…

VIRGINIA MEGREDY

Virginia Megredy was the great-granddaughter of early settlers of Sangamon County and the granddaughter of a Civil War soldier. Deeply connected to the land, she lived most of her long life on a sesquicentennial farm near Loami. She had an indomitable spirit, courage in the face of adversity and was tough as nails with a…

WILLIAM PROTZ and JACKIE PROTZ

Bill and Jackie Protz were extraordinary and unique on their own, but together, they were unstoppable. Since their marriage in 1965, they enjoyed creating a tight-knit family, NHRA drag racing, traveling to watch their son, Randy, in his football playing and coaching career and then doing the same watching their granddaughters, Jenna and Brandy, in…

JENNA PROTZ

Jenna Protz was excited for basketball season and being a freshman playing varsity for the Vandalia Vandals. She was a force on the court and known for her three-pointers. Jenna also played volleyball and softball and qualified for state in discus in junior high. But Jenna was more than her athletic ability.  Known for her…

About the remembering issue

Here, again, in our last issue of the year, we remember Springfield-area people who have died in the past year. Each has a story that could fill a book. None is more important than another. We gave our own writers freedom to do longer essays on a few; readers were asked to keep their tributes…

Rev. Shaughneysy Small Jr. March 5, 1938-Feb. 12, 2019

My father, Shaughneysy Small Jr., was born into humble conditions. Experien cing hardships after his father separated from his mother, he learned the importance for a man to keep commitments and honest work to provide for himself and family. He lived by the principle, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” His mother…

FRANK JOSEPH KOPECKY III Sept. 29, 1942-Nov. 9, 2019

Frank Kopecky settled in Springfield in 1972, bringing his family with him.  Although central Illinois was a long way from his native Berwyn, Illinois, and the White Sox, it quickly became a cherished home for him and his young family. How best to measure a very full and distinguished life that spanned 77 years?  Perhaps…

MARILYN PILAND Feb. 25, 1930-Sept. 6, 2019

Marilyn Piland was known for her work in many areas: the Enos Park Neig hborhood Improvement Association, serving as its executive director for 17 years; the Democratic Party as a precinct committeewoman and secretary; Elliott Avenue Baptist Church and Kumler Food Pantry. She had a huge personality. A word for each letter in the alphabet…

RAYMOND J. ACKERMAN Jan. 7, 1918-Jan. 6, 2019

One of Ray Ackerman’s favorite sayings was, “Never leave a game early – you could miss something terrific.” Ray stayed in the game of life until it was fully played , one day short of his 101st birthday – aged in body, but not in spirit. The preface to his three-volume autobiography, playfully entitled Grandpa…

JOHN KNOEPFLE Feb. 4, 1923-Nov. 16, 2019

John Knoepfle: husband, father, grandfather, recipient of Purple Heart (shrapnel for proof!), poet, storyteller: 25-plus books that garnered many prizes – among th em the “Mark Twain Award for Poetry” and “lllinois Writer of the Year” – professor, collaborator, mentor, colleague, friend and skilled harmonica player in a dulcimer band, performing with it a few…

ARCHIE LAWRENCE June 21, 1947-July 5, 2019

Archie Lawrence didn’t thunder. As president of the Springfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Lawrence was soft-spoken but determin ed and deliberate in thought and manner. “He didn’t have to yell or be verbose,” says Gail Simpson, a former Springfield alderman who represented Ward 2. “He knew what he…

WILLIAM FEURER Aug. 5, 1934-June 23, 2019

Bill Feurer was called “that tall guy” when he worked in the office of the Illinois Senate president, Cecil Partee, and later when he served as liaison to the press and speechwriter for Gov. Otto Kerner in 1962. His height (6 feet 2 inches) was useful when playing basketball, something he started at the age…

DR. TOWFIG MIR ARJMAND June 4, 1929-Aug. 23, 2019

“Towfig Arjmand always bore himself with dignity. He even bore i ndignities with dignity,” says Rabbi Michael Datz of Temple B’Rith Sholom. A resident of Springfield for more than 50 years, Arjmand was born in Kermanshah in western Iran. He came to work at St. John’s Hospital in 1966, which was the beginning of his…

GUERRY SUGGS Nov. 1, 1938-April 9, 2019

Guerry Suggs always had a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eyes and was quick to tell a joke. First Citizen of Springfield, philanthropist, volunteer, friend, mentor, champion, servant leader and avid baseball fan are a few descriptors of this beloved community leader. Suggs graduated from Cornell University and had an MBA from…

FRANK PAPP April 7, 1914-Oct. 27, 2019

Frank Papp won the lottery twice, in more ways than one. His monetary winnings never amounted to more than $10,000, although he certainly enjoyed being able to share his good fortune with his grandchildren. However, he also served in both WWII and the Korean War, returning home each time and devoting himself to his family,…

GIOVANNA VANNINI FORSTALL Sept. 29, 1926 – Oct. 13, 2019

Ask friends and family what they remember most about Giovanna Forstall, and the answer will be her infectious laugh, her high energy, her religious devotion and her passion for justice and equality. Born in 1926 in the town of Banzyville in Congo (currently known as Mobayi-Mbongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo), Giovanna and her…

JEANNE E. SCOTT Aug. 17, 1948-Oct. 19, 2019

Jeanne Scott’s was a lifetime of firsts. First female prosecutor in the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office. First woman to become a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge, and the first woman appointed to the federal bench in the Central District of Illinois. She came from a family of lawyers, but Scott was no ordinary attorney.…

PAUL FINDLEY June 23, 1921-Aug. 9, 2019

Longtime central Illinois congressman Paul Findley died in Jacksonville on Aug . 9, 2019. He was 98. As a young man, Paul Findley was a typical moderate Republican of the sort that mid-Illinois once produced like corn. A small-town boy born and bred in farm country, he was a Main Street Republican businessman who was…