Obituaries - Page 11
Mrs. Dailey, 60, Once Ivesdale [Champaign Co.] Resident, Dies
[1948] Mrs. Ida Marie Dailey, 60, 35 Lake street, Danville, former Ivesdale resident, died at 3:22 a.m., Thursday at Lakeview hospital, Danville. Mrs. Dailey was born May 16, 1888 at Ivesdale, daughter of Peter and Mary Ellen Skeffington. She had resided in Danville for the past ten years moving there from Ivesdale. Her husband preceded her in death. Mrs. Dailey leaves four children, Joseph, a student at Notre Dame; Mary Ellen of Danville; Anna Rita, a student at St. Maryís of Notre Dame and Regina of Danville and a brother, Vince Skeffington, Savannah, Ga. Mrs. Dailey was a member of St. Patrickís church, Danville. The body was removed to the Barrick and Son Funeral home where the rosary will be said at 8:30 p.m., Friday. Services will be conducted at 10 a.m., Saturday from St. Patrickís church, Danville with Reverend Father Thomas H. Dailey, O.P., officiating. Burial will be in St. Patrickís cemetery.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
Mrs. Annetta Foohy Dies In Chicago
[1948] Mrs. Annetta J. Foohy, former Ivesdale [Champaign Co.] resident, died Sunday in Chicago. Services will be conducted at 9:30 a.m. Thuesday from St. Josephís church, Ivesdale, with Reverend David Monaghan of Philo officiating. Burial will be in St. Josephís cemetary beside her late husband, Timothy Foohy. The rosary will be said at 8 p.m. Monday at the Owens Funeral home, Champaign, with Father Monaghan officiating. Mrs. Foohy, whose maiden name was Annetta J. Skeffington, leaves two sons and one daughter, Walter Foohy, Mrs. Sabina Howard and Frank Foohy, all of Chicago; and one brother and one sister, Vince Skeffington and Mrs. Ida Dailey. A son, Emmett, preceded her in death. Submitted by Howard Skeffington
E.T. Skeffington Dies In Savannah, Ga.
[no date. Edward was born b. 10 Sep 1874 in Ivesdale, Champaign Co.] Word has been received of the death of Edward T. Skeffington, former Ivesdale resident, in Savannah, Ga. Mr. Skeffington was a member of a pioneer Champaign county family. He is survived by his wife, the former Ida Donahue; one brother, Vincent; two sisters, Mrs. Annetta J. Foohy and Mrs. Joseph M. Dailey, Danville; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mrs. Dailey attended the funeral services in Savannah.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
P. Skeffington, Ivesdale, Dies
Ivesdale [Champaign Co.], Jan. 7 [1926] Pete Skeffington died at his home Tuesday evening. Death was due to heart trouble. He was born in Canada, Jan. 15, 1840. He moved to La Salle in 1861 and from there to Ivesdale in 1866. He was united to Mary Lynch of La Salle, October 18, 1869. Eight children were born, six living. They are William Skeffington and Annette J. Foohy of Ivesdale; Edward of New York; Frank and Vince of Savannah, Ga.; and Mrs. Joe Daily of Penfield; ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be Friday morning.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
Fall on Stair at Ivesdale Proves Fatal
IVESDALE [Champaign Co.] Dec. 1 [1933]. William Skeffington died at 11:15 oíclock Friday morning as a result of injuries received at 11:15 o'clock Thursday night when he slipped and fell down the stairs of the A.O.H. Hall, where a dance was being held. He sustained a skull fracture at the base of the brain, and did not regain consciousness. He was about 58 years old [he was 61]. Dr. R.C. Shurtz, coroner, was to conduct an inquest at 7:30 o'clock Friday night at the town hall.
[Addition to the Obituary on William Skeffington:] William Skeffington was born August 5, 1872, south of Ivesdale. From 1909 to 1925 he lived at Savannah, Ga., then his father died and he returned to Ivesdale, where he has resided since with his sister, Mrs. Annetta Foohy.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
[Ivesdale, Champaign Co., Nov. 24, 1911] the funeral of John Skeffington, a son of Patrick L. Skeffington, was held Friday morning from St. Joseph's church. The pastor officiated. John died quite suddenly Wednesday morning while assisting his brother Herbert at carrying coal. The decedent is survived by three brothers, Herbert, Leo and Charles, and a sister Clara and his father.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
[April 22, 1922] The funeral of Miss Edith Skeffington was held Saturday morning at ten oíclock at St. Josephís Catholic church. Rev. Fr. Armstrong officiating. The Young Ladiesí Sodality of which she was a member, marched. The pallbearers were Ed Monaghan, Paul Sommers, Nick Welch, Walter Hannon, Tom Crinigan and John Mooney. Internment was in St. Joseph's cemetery.
Ivesdale [Champaign County], April 21 [1922]. Funeral services for Miss Edith Skeffington, who died Thursday morning at her home here were held at 9:30 Saturday morning at St. Josephís Catholic church. Miss Skeffington died following the after-effects of an attack of influenza. She was about 30 years old [she was 31] and was the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Peter Skeffington. She was born on a farm south of town. Besides her parents she is survived by two sisters, Mrs. A.J. Foohy of this place and Mrs. Joseph Daily of Penfield and four brothers, Will, Edward, Frank and Vincent, all of Savannah, Georgia.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
Mary Ellen Skeffington, 77, Early Resident of Champaign County
IVESDALE, March 29 [1928]. Mrs. Mary Ellen Skeffington, 77, died in her home Thursday morning at 6 oíclock following an illness of two weeks. She had regained strength from an illness of last spring, but suffered a relapse two weeks ago.
Mary Ellen Lynch was born in La Salle, and was graduated from St. Xavierís academy in Ottawa. Immediately after her marriage to Peter Skeffington she came to Ivesdale. The Skeffingtons were among the first settlers of Champaign county. They lived on a farm south of Ivesdale.
They retired from the farm some years ago. Peter Skeffington died two years ago; two daughters also died. Mrs. Skeffington is survived by the following children: William J. Skeffington and Annetta J. Foohy, Ivesdale; Edward T., Frank J., and Vincent J., of Savannah, Ga.; Ida M. Dailey of Penfield; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren also survive her.
Submitted by Howard Skeffington
DEATH: MRS. YEXLEY IS DEAD
Expired at her home north of Mayview.
Mayview - Dec 15 - Mrs. Hannah Yexley an old resident of Champaign county, died in her home north of Mayview Friday even at 11 o'clock. Mrs. Yexley had been ill for about four weeks. She was born in 1842 in Indiana. In 1864, she married at Mayview to William Roughton. Of this union, five children were born, four of whom survive. They are A.J. Roughton of Kansas; Mrs. Minerva Ice, Melvin and Frank H. who live near Mayview. Mr. Roughton died a few years ago. In 1900, the deceased was married to Alexander Yexley who survives her. The funeral service will be held at Mayview Sunday afternoon.
Submitted by Marcia Goodin
Death Of A Venerable Citizen. Daniel Steele Is No More.
By E. J. Udell.
Another old and highly esteemed citizen of Rantoul has laid him down to his last sleep. Rev. Daniel Steele, after an illness of about five weeks, died at his home in this village at ten minutes past twelve, Monday afternoon, Jan. 5, 1891, of heart disease.
Few men have taken a more active part in the affairs of Rantoul village and township than has the subject of this obituary. He settled here in the fall of 1868 – twenty-three years ago – and in addition to his regular occupation as druggist, he has held almost continually one or more of the local public offices in the gift of his fellow citizens.
He has represented the township on the board of supervisors two terms; has served a term or two as Police Magistrate; and has filled the office of Justice of the Peace some twelve years, holding that office and that of Notary Public at the time of his death. For many years he was one of the leading spirits of our volunteer fire company, contributing much time and money for its support, and serving it and the public for a long time as fire marshal.
In politics he was an unswerving Republican, and invariably took an active part in the local and national campaigns.
Something of his reverence for the defenders of our country may be derived from the fact that towards the last days of his life, when it had become very difficult for him to talk or express his wishes, he had a beautiful picture of John A. Logan, of whom he was an enthusiastic admirer, hung near his bedside where he could feast his eyes and soul on the likeness of one of the ablest, bravest, purest and noblest soldiers and statesmen Columbia has ever produced.
Mr. Steele was often elected chairman of public meetings, especially of political gatherings, in which he took great interest even up to last falls election. Probably no man in this region was more thoroughly disgusted with the results of this last tilt with the Democrats than our departed brother. This is not saying that he harbored any unkind feelings against his party opponents as men. It was only their politics he disliked. He was kind and neighborly to everybody, and especially so to those in his employ. His employees at the flax mill speak of him only in terms of reverence and affection. On Christmas morning a year ago he summoned all of them to his office. They obeyed promptly, little dreaming what was in store for them. To their surprise and delight each one having a family (there were sixteen of them) was presented with a nice dressed turkey for a Christmas dinner. The two having no families received each a fine silk handkerchief. We mention this little incident merely to illustrate Mr. Steeles kindness of heart. He seemed to study how he might make those around him happy.
He was on intimate terms of friendship with the celebrated Rev. John Hall, D. D., of New York, with whom he was a fellow student at Queens College, Belfast, of which institution both were graduates.
He was a remarkably energetic and vigorous man, and retained the full use of his mental powers almost to the last moment of his life. While he expressed himself as entirely ready and willing to bid adieu to earth, and to meet his Heavenly Father, yet when he came to take the last farewell of his two little grandchildren, Mary Maude and Daniel P. Cole (sic), for whom he entertained the tenderest affection, the desire to live well-nigh gained the mastery.
The family of which he was a member can be traced back at least two hundred years, and among the many strong traits of character peculiar to it perhaps none is more striking than its whole-souled and long-continued adherence to the religious faith of its fathers, the Steeles so far as known being all staunch Presbyterians. A brother of deceased, William Steele, preached in Australia for upwards of forty years. He recently retired from the ministry, and is now residing at Melbourne. John Steele, the only other brother living, resides at the old homestead, Steeles Rock, Ireland.
Two children, the entire fruits of his marriage, survive Mr. Steele, namely Mrs. M. Lavinia Cole, wife of William R. Cole, of Rantoul; and Dr. D. A. K. Steele, an eminent physician and surgeon, of Chicago.
The burial solemnities conducted by the Odd Fellows, of which order Mr. Steele was a member, took place at 2 oclock p. m., Wednesday, from the Congregational church, Rev. C. N. Wilder, of Champaign, at the request of Mr. Steele himself, preaching the funeral sermon. The following named persons assisted in the ceremonies: R. W. S. Wheatley, Grand Master of the I. O. O. F. for the State of Illinois; Geo. M. Adams, Grand Scribe; E. Youngs, Official Instructor; and Revs. A. N. Sharpes, J. L. Fonda and C. B. Taylor.
There were visiting Odd Fellows from Urbana, Champaign, Gifford and Fisher. The attendance was so great that fully one third of the assemblage were unable to gain admittance into the church, and many were obliged to go away. The remains were interred in Maplewood cemetery the order of the procession being as follows:
First, the Odd Fellows in full regalia; second, the Rebekahs; third, Mr. Steeles employes at the flax mill, each wearing at his request a little ornament made of tow, to be cast into the grave; fourth and last, private citizen.
Daniel Steele was born in Cookstown, county Tyrone, Ireland, June 4, 1819, his age at the time of this death being 71 years, 7 months and 1 day. On the 9th of April 1851, at Gilnahirk, county Down, Ireland, he was married by Rev. Dr. Coulter to Miss Mary L. Anderson, who survives him as his widow. Soon after his marriage he came with his wife to this country, taking up his abode for short time at Circleville, Ohio. He next moved to Eden, Delaware county, Ohio, where he preached for the Presbyterian church for two years. From there he moved to this State, settling at Pinkneyville, where he resided for five years as pastor of the above named denomination, of which he was a devoted member all his life.
His next move was to Grand Cote, Ill., where he preached some ten years up to 1868, when he settled in Rantoul for the remainder of his life.
In such afflictions as these how cheering is the belief embodied in the sweet words of Young:
Death is the crown of life;
Were death denied, poor man would live in vain.
Death wounds to cure; we fall, we rise, we reign;
Spring from our fetters, fasten to the skies,
Where blooming Eden withers from our sight.
This king of terrors is the prince of peace.
Submitted by: Janet Waggoner
W. R. COLE, 82, RESIDENT OF CITY 56 YEARS, DIES
Pioneer Resident Succumbs To Lingering Illness at Belle Avenue Home
RANTOUL DRUGGIST FOR THIRTY YEARS
Active In Congregational Church Of Which He Was Deacon Twenty-Five Years
Death entered one of the pioneer homes of Rantoul at 8 oclock Tuesday morning, October 26th, and claimed one of the citys beloved characters in William Robinson Cole, who was in his 82nd year, fifty-six of which he had spent in Rantoul.
The end came as a climax to a lingering illness of three years duration, during which period he received constantly the tender ministration of his devoted wife, Mrs. Mary E. Cole. The end came peacefully and without suffering.
The funeral will occur at 2 p.m. Thursday from the Congregational church in Rantoul, with Rev. C. R. Blood and Rev. A. E. Cole officiating. Interment will be in the Maplewood cemetery in Rantoul.
The following will be pallbearers: Bart Rice, David Long, Fred Musson, Emmett Perring, August Johnson, Joseph Mounts, O. E. Williams, and J. C. Webber.
Mr. Cole died in the home on Belle avenue which he had occupied for fifty-four years, into which he moved in 1872 immediately following his marriage.
William Robinson Cole was born on March 4, 1844, in Adophustown, Ontario, Canada, the son of Conrad B. and Sarah Ann Kennedy Cole. He received his education in Napannee, Ontario, and then went into business there with his brother Hiram.
Later, he conducted a mercantile establishment of his own in Newburg, Ontario.
In 1870, Mr. Cole came to Rantoul to visit his brother Louis, who was at that time a coal, grain, and lumber merchant.
Rantoul proved so attractive to the young man that he decided to remain here and assist his brother in business.
On August 12, 1872, Mr. Cole married Mary E. Lavinia Steele, daughter of Rev. Daniel Steele, for many years Presbyterian minister in Rantoul.
After an injury which crippled Mr. Steele through all his later life, he engaged in the drug business here and Mr. Cole became associated with him in it.
After Mr. Steeles death in 1891, Mr. Cole carried on the business successfully until 1901 when ill health caused him to retire from the confinement and responsibility of the drug store.
Mr. Cole heeded the advise [sic] of See America, and he and Mrs. Cole took several long and interesting trips, but the most of their well earned leisure they have enjoyed together in their beautiful home on West Belle avenue.
Four children have been born into this home: Mary Maude widow of the late Dean G. H. Scott of Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois; Alice Bell, who died when only thirteen months old; Lilly Lavinia who died at the age of eleven years; and Daniel Thomas, now a prominent physician and surgeon in Mt. Olive, Illinois.
There are five grand children: William Arthur Scott in business in Portland Oregon; Franklin Daniel Scott, professor of history in Simpson college, Indianola, Iowa; Mary Elizabeth Scott, and Clara Lavinia Scott, both at college at Jacksonville; and Mary Lois Cole in school in Mt. Olive.
Mr. Cole was the youngest of eleven children, having had three brothers and seven sisters. Three of these died in infancy, while all of the others attained a good old age, but the only one now surviving is Mrs. Zachary T. Withers of Joshua, Texas. Several nieces and nephews survive.
In his thirty years in the drug business in this community, as well as in those later years, Mr. Coles life was enriched by the many firm friendships he had made. His integrity and sterling worth commanded respect while his sincere and unselfish interest in other people won their esteem and affection. Even in his last illness when he was unable to speak his happy smile and the outstretching of his frail hands testified to his joy in seeing his friends.
Mr. Cole was a staunch and loyal Republican, always to be depended upon, though he had no taste for political life. He wan an active and devoted member of the congregational Church, in which he had served for twenty-five consecutive years as deacon, an office he still held at the time of this death.
Submitted by: Janet Waggoner
Mrs. W.R. Cole Dies Monday At Her Home Here
Death Takes Rantoul Pioneer on Her 77th Birthday; Funeral Yesterday
BORN IN SWANWICK, ILL.
Mrs. W. R. Cole, a resident of Rantoul since 1868, died at her home here at 9:15 Monday morning, on her seventy-seventh birthday. She was born June 8, 1854 in Swanwick, Ill., and had lived in this community 63 years.
Mrs. Coles funeral was held Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 at the Methodist Church, the services being conducted by the Rev. Raye Ragan. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery.
Mrs. Cole was Miss Mary Elizabeth Lavinia Steele, and was born at Swanwick, near Pinckneyville in Perry County, on June 8, 1854. She was the only daughter of the Rev. Daniel Steele and Mary Anderson Steele, who were both of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian stock. Her early education was obtained partly in local schools, but mainly under an English governess - and always under the scholarly direction of her father, a graduate of the University of Dublin and the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and of her mother, who had been a teacher for many years before her marriage.
Mr. Coon Was Pupil
In 1868 the Steele family moved to Rantoul where Mrs. Cole lived the rest of her life. For a short time she was a teacher in a private school in this town, and one of her pupils was the late E. G. Coon, who died recently in Champaign.
In 1872, on Aug. 12, she was married to William Robinson Cole, a native of Naponee (sic), Ontario, Canada. Mr. Cole had come here to be associated with his brother, Louis B. Cole, in the coal and grain business, but later entered the drug store with Mr. Steele and continued in that business until his retirement in 1901. After the death of Mr. Steele in 1891, Mr. Cole continued in charge of the drug store and Mrs. Cole assumed management of Mr. Steeles other businesses, including the hemp mill which stood where the buildings at Chanute Field now stand, and she had charge of it for several years.
Mrs. Cole was a member of the Presbyterian church from childhood. In 1882 she and Mr. Cole joined the congregational Church in Rantoul, which had formerly been a Presbyterian church. After the Congregational Church was disbanded, she became a member of the Rantoul Methodist Church.
Domestic Science Club Member
Mrs. Cole was interested and active in organization for the welfare of the community. She was president of the Womans Christian Temperance Union for a number of years, and active in the Ladies Aid Society of the Congregational Church. She was a member of the Rantoul Womans Club and had belonged to its forerunner, the Domestic Science Club.
Almost all her married life, Mrs. Cole had lived on Belle Avenue in what was the family home for the past 58 years. It was there she injured her arm early in April and never seemed to recover from the shock, but gradually grew weaker. She refused to give up, and was bedfast only one week.
Mrs. Cole was the mother of four children, as follows: Mary Maude, now Mrs. George Harvey Scott, who after the death of her husband, Dean Scott of Illinois College, Jacksonville, came to Rantoul to be with her mother; Alice Belle, who died at the age of 13 months; Lilly Lavinia, who died at the age of 11 years; and Daniel Thomas, a physician and surgeon of Palatine, Ill.
Died in 1904
Mr. Cole died Oct. 29, 1926, but Mrs. Cole is survived by her only brother, Dr. D.A.K. Steele, of Sarasota, Fla., and by five grandchildren. The grandchildren are William Arthur Scott, of Chicago; Franklin Daniel Scott, of Cambridge, Mass., but now in Europe; Mrs. Elizabeth Scott Stearns, of Cambridge, Mass.; Miss Lavinia Scott, of Bridgeport, Conn.; and Billy Cole, of Palatine, Ill. Another grandson, Irving Cole Scott, died in 1904.
The following tribute is paid Mrs. Scott [sic] by her friends:
Those who knew her best loved her and admired her strong Christian character, with her interest in life all about her. One of her outstanding characteristics was her alert interest in and loyalty to her friends and her ever readiness to help all about her. In whatever group she was associated she was leader, both in thinking and doing, for her life was an active and happy one. Her friends feel that these same words which were written about her mother at the time of her death in 1899, are just as fitting for her. She was noted for her Christian character, delightful personality, endless fund of anecdotes, unostentatious charity and her familiarity with the Holy Scriptures. Her closing hours were peaceful. Her work was finished and realizing this she was prepared to meet the Heavenly Father. Such a life is a monument of virtue that the storms of life can never destroy. A true and faithful friend, a loving mother and an earnest Christian has gone to her reward.
Music at the funeral service yesterday afternoon was furnished by Frank J. Bohlen, Walter E. Johnson, Paul Meuser and W. A. Brown.
The honorary pall bearers were Bart Rice, David Long, O. E. Williams, J. C. Webber, August Johnson, Joseph Mounts, C. C. Condit and G. G. Douglas. The active pall bearers were James F. Clark, J. L. Jones, H. P. Leighly, Paul Baker, L. L. Crane and Emory Turner.
The flowers were cared for by Mrs. S. S. Smith, Mrs. John Perring, Mrs. W.C.F. Kuhne, Mrs. Frank Yates, Mrs. James T. Frost, Mrs. A. A&. (the rest of the obituary is missing).
Submitted by: Janet Waggoner
Wilma Pierce
MILTON, Fla. Wilma Elizabeth Pierce, 84, of Milton, formerly of Champaign, died Saturday (Jan. 3, 2004) at Heritage of Santa Rosa, Milton.
No services were held.
Lewis Funeral Home Inc., Milton, was in charge of arrangements.
Submitted by: ligman_pierce@yahoo.com
THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Champaign ñ Urbana, IL
Obituary April 3 1967
Jo Ann Ligman, 14, 209 W. John, c, died at Mercy Hospital Sunday (April 2, 1967). She had been a patient there since Dec. 26, 1966.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Owens Chapel, with Rev. Earle Sanders officiating. Visitation will be from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Wensday at the funeral home. Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery.
She was born April 11, 1952, daughter of K.C. and Wilma Pierce Ligman. Her father lives in Chicago. She is survived by her parents and two sisters, Mrs. Roberta Meuser, Electra, Texas and Mrs. Clara Whitford, Champaign. She was preceded in death by her grandparents.
She was a student at Edison Junior High School until the time of her illness.
Submitted by: ligman_pierce@yahoo.com