Remembering

David Copley was last. He presided over Copley Press, one of the last large family-owned newspaper chains in America, and had no heirs. The company got its start in Illinois in 1905, when Ira Copley, his grandfather, acquired the Aurora Beacon-News. Copley Press also owned the State Journal-Register until 2007, when the Springfield paper and […]

Mike was truly a wonderful and selfless man. No matter what challenges he was facing at any given time, he always had a warm smile, hearty laugh and a story to share with anyone who was near him. He was extremely devoted to his wife and very proud of his children and grandchildren. Mike’s generosity […]

I lost my grandmother, Edna May Garner, on Aug. 7, 2012. She was born on Feb. 22, 1918, and was 94 years old when she passed. My grandmother practically raised me, and was the lifeline of my Dad’s side of the family. Shug, as she was affectionately known, was everything to me. Her white, three-story […]

“What a wonderful life” is hopefully what my dad is saying up in heaven. He sure did his best to give his four children a wonderful life growing up and for that we are thankful this holiday season. A child growing up in Chicago during the Depression, my dad was determined to provide his high […]

Most of the people who knew Donna probably only knew one or two aspects of her multifaceted personality, or only met her in one of her several vocations. As a massage therapist (she was voted Springfield’s best by Illinois Times readers back around 2002), she brought comfort and pain relief to hundreds of clients, some of whom […]

Few people go out of their way to fight someone else’s fight. Even fewer people devote their entire lives to that pursuit. Ethel Gingold of Springfield was one of those people. She died July 28, 2012, at the age of 93, leaving a legacy of fearless perseverance in the quest for social justice. “She needed […]

My mother was born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, and came to the United States in her early teens. She immediately fell in love with America, and was determined to make a better life for herself here. She met my father, married and was on her way to raising three children. The family moved often, […]

Each year when we put together our end-of-year obituary issue, I find myself wishing I had known these people, or known them better. I’d see Dr. Gordon Smith at community meetings, but never knew he was a stalwart of Union Baptist Church and conducted a prison ministry. Becky Austwick used to work at Illinois Times, […]

In February, the St. John’s Hospital family lost one of our heroes. I met Travis when he was about 3 years old. He came with his mother for physical therapy for delayed development. Over the next several years, I had the privilege of working with Travis when he was in the hospital and for the […]

Daniel Bruce Brinkley of Springfield was the father of two beautiful daughters, Shawnda Brinkley, 20, and Shyanne Brinkley, 5. He was a loving husband to wife Roxanne (Dunham) Brinkley. Daniel married my Aunt Roxie.  He met his wife thought his best friend and sister-in-law, Rhonda Bixler (Dunham). Growing up, he was always known to be […]

Dr. Thomas Shanahan of Springfield wasn’t the type to let success go to his head. A world-renowned doctor at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Shanahan created a specialized prostate cancer treatment that has become the de facto standard. He traveled the world to teach his method to other doctors. He developed a custom platform now […]

Call him Bob – that’s what everyone called him, when they weren’t calling him Uncle Bob. Or Chief Burning Feathers. Or The Kid. “He hated ‘Carl,’” says his former wife, Jeri Taylor, who was at his side when he died of multiple sclerosis at his Springfield home. A master of marketing and promotions, Bob Taylor […]