Remembering

BERKLEY MOORE Aug. 3, 1932 – Jan. 4, 2018 Berkley Moore could talk with equal ease about the hidden gems of scripture or the subtle qualities of beer. But his real passion was music. During a lifetime of 85 years, he amassed an enormous – and eclectic – collection of LPs and CDs, spanning classical, jazz […]

R-LOU BARKER Dec. 18, 1933 – April 21, 2018Seeing the world with undying wonder A grand dame of the Springfield community passed from our lives this April. This woman had been a special friend to me for 30 years, sharing her joyful stories and her quiet wisdom. I was so fortunate to have been one […]

BURNELL ALBERT HEINECKE June 11, 1927-Dec. 5, 2018Veteran newsman, mentor, public citizen Burnie Heinecke was a veteran newsman, a fixture in community theater and a strong advocate for higher education, traits well-known to his many friends. But to me, he was also a mentor, the guy who first got me interested in the nitty-gritty details […]

PETER LAZARE April 16, 1952-Nov. 7, 2018“Have a pretty good day” Pete Lazare, almost always, was the smartest man in the room. He never made that clear. He spoke French. He read, a lot. His energy was boundless. He was a master of bad poetry and Springfield’s king of puns. As a businessman, he did […]

DONALD L. SQUIRES March 24, 1934 – May 7, 2018 To many people he was simply the Ice Guy, a moniker he wore so proudly that he had it stamped in metal and bolted to his car. As general manager of Central Illinois Ice for 30 years, he embodied the company so much so that […]

ROZANNE ‘POSY’ ROBERTSONMar. 20, 1931 – July 1, 2018 Springfield lost one of its most gentle and compassionate souls on July 1, 2018, when Rozanne ‘Posy’ Robertson passed away. Born in 1931, Posy was a child of the Great Depression, with an inquisitive mind and engaging personality. She knew no strangers and was genuinely interested […]

EARL LEROY THROOP, SR. July 22, 1944-June 20, 2018Big tree down Everybody called him “Throop,” like that was his first name. He was my tree guy for the past 30 years, as I nurtured properties in a neighborhood of big trees. I always enjoyed it when he’d arrive in his big new truck – no […]

DANIEL J. “DANNY” HAWKS, JR. Oct. 17, 1945 – Sept. 25, 2018 A life well lived is filled with moments sweet and sad, with smiles and sometimes tears, with laughter and friendships, and with good times and hard times. My dad, Danny Hawks, always had a smile on his face and encouraged my brother, Evan, […]

RUDOLPH DAVENPORT June 2, 1928-April 7, 2018“He always had an idea” Rudolph Davenport – everyone called him Rudy – wasn’t a boastful pillar. One of Springfield’s best-known civil rights activists, he was one of three black men, later joined by two additional plaintiffs, who went to court in the 1980s to force a change in […]

WOODROW J. SHADID, SR. June 29, 1922-Oct. 4, 2018A bookseller who outdid expectations Shadid’s Book Mart, Springfield’s legendary downtown bookstore, outdid the expectations of most local observers by surviving for 14 years after the opening of the mall stores that should have put it out of business. I was not surprised therefore that Woody Shadid, […]

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 […]