Remembering

CHARLEE WALTON March 10, 2011 – Jan. 19, 2018 KARLY PEARCE June 25, 2011 – Jan. 23, 2018Two little girls Sparkling blue eyes. Fabulous smiles. Mischievous little sisters. Though they never met in person, Karly Pearce and Charlee Walton had many similarities. Heartbreakingly, the 6-year-olds are linked for one more reason: their young lives were […]

REV. DR. MARCELLUS JULIAN LEONARD Sept. 19, 1939-Aug. 3, 2018He changed the banks of the river It’s a near certainty that at some point in our lives, each of us meets someone whose impact on us is profound. I am not talking about our grandparents. I am talking about someone who arrives as a complete […]

JOHANNA MARY LEIKVOLD Jun. 19, 1985 – Aug. 5, 2018 I lost my firstborn daughter, Johanna Mary Leikvold. She was born Jun. 19, 1985, and passed away Aug. 5, 2018.  She had 31 wonderful years of life and those years were also the best for me. As a little girl, Johanna enjoyed being outside and […]

JILL CUNNINGHAM BLACK Oct. 25, 1944 – Nov. 2, 2018 State government lost one of its unsung heroes when Jill Black died on Nov. 2. For over 17 years when I ran the Illinois Lottery and the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), Jill was a trusted senior aide and confidant.   She fortunately never […]

KEN BRADBURY Nov. 7, 1949 – Nov. 18, 2018He put central Illinois on stage In the late 80s I directed a play at Fulton County Playhouse near Bryant. I was away after the play opened and received a call from an actor: “Ken Bradbury came to the show this weekend!” Ken Bradbury’s fame in central […]

TIM LANDIS Nov. 19, 1951-Jan. 2, 2018A gentleman journalist Tim Landis was no joke as a journalist. Consider the lede in the first story he wrote for the State Journal-Register back in 1995: “Junk mail isn’t junk anymore.” Just five words and seven syllables. The story about escalating paper prices had everything a just-the-facts reporter, […]

MARK SKUBE Apr. 21, 1951 – Oct. 14, 2018 Memory is mysterious; a repository of images that reflect us as much as they do what is remembered.  In our memory, those we’ve loved and lost are as they were at particular moments in our lives. For me, the Mark my mind keeps returning to in […]

ANN FORD July 26, 1941-Sept. 23, 2018 First Lady of Independent Living If you ever wanted to find Ann Ford, chances are you could find her scooting around the Capitol. Ford, who had contracted polio at the age of 5, used a scooter to get around, but that never stopped her from advocating for the […]

WENDELL WAYNE HAHN Aug. 2, 1930 – Nov. 12, 2018 This is dedicated to Wendell Wayne Hahn, born in Springfield on Aug. 2, 1930. To many he was known as Buzz, but to me he was Grandpa. I didn’t realize how incredible this man was and how fortunate I was to have him in my […]

REV. DR. R. PAUL SIMS Sept. 10, 1926-June 3, 2018A spiritual giant Paul Sims held the highly respected titles of Reverend, Doctor, United Methodist District Superintendent and Assistant to the Bishop. But, other titles reveal more about the life of this remarkable man. Mentor. Loving husband and father. Friend. Teacher. Pastor to many pastors. Spiritual […]

KAY FEURER March 19, 1935-Oct. 18, 2018Champion for the arts “Kay Feurer loved and appreciated the arts,” says Grace Nanavati, director emeritus of the Springfield Ballet Company (SBC). “She left a forever footprint in our city. I adored Kay. She had an internal ticker to my soul. Through her leadership with the Springfield Area Arts […]