The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 7

ILLINOIS Funerals today Marcella Forrest WENONA Marcella J. "Sally" Forrest, 87, of 407 First North Wenona, died at 3:35 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at St. Mary Hospital, Streator.

Service: 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Church, Wenona, the Rev. Ray Guthrie officiating. Burial: St.

Mary's Cemetery, Wenona. Visitation: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday at Hurst Funeral Home, Wenona. Memorials: Wenona Ambulance Fund.

Survivors: one daughter, Mary Jane (Nelson) Costa, Doylestown, and three sons, Dr. Gerald (Priscilla) Forrest, Los Angeles; Richard Forrest, Oakley, and William (Pamela) Forrest, Wenona; 10 grandchildren; 10 great granchildren; one sister, Dolores (Robert) Cashmer, Helensville, and one brother, Raymond Renner, Streator. James Harp CENTRAL LINCOLN James L. Harp, 88, of Lincoln died at 2:20 p.m. Sunday (Jan.

2, 2005) at Memorial Medical Center, Springfield. Service: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home, Lincoln, Bill Boice officiating. Burial: Irish Grove Cemetery, Middletown. Visitation: 4 to 7 p.m.

today at the funeral home. Memorials: charity of the donor's choice. Survivors: two sons, Richard (Janet) Harp, Mason City, and Marvin (Suzanne) Harp, Mount Pulaski; two daughters, Yvonne (Mark) Cheek, Lincoln, and Loretta Jones, Peoria; five stepsons, Jim (Margie) Rice, St. Joseph; Merle Rice, Lincoln; Mike Rice, Lincoln; Jerry (Wanda) Rice, San Peblos, and Forrest Rice, Lincoln; four stepdaughters, Kelley (Wyatt) Halcomb, Lincoln; Shelley Hurt, Lincoln; Ethel Frakes, Houston, Texas; and Wanda (Donald) Kramer, Belleville; two brothers, John Harp and William (Betty) Harp, both of three sisters, Catherine Evans, Marianna, Mary Bandy, Sullivan; and Nellie Davis, Springfield; 10 grandchildren; 35 stepgrandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Lou Emma Hensley CHENOA Lou Emma Hens91, of Evenglow Lodge, Ponformerly of Chenoa, died 3:18 p.m.

Sunday (Jan. 2, 2005) OSF Saint James-John W. Al- brecht Medical Center, Pontiac. Her funeral will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Duffy- Pils Memorial Home, Chenoa, Pastor Timothy Moats officiating.

Burial will be in Lou Chenoa Ceme- Hensley tery, Chenoa. Lou Hensley Visitation will be from 1 p.m. Wednesday until the time of service at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to a charity of the donor's choice. She was born April 25, 1912, in rural Kentucky to Henry and Martha Edwards Spradlin.

She married Earl Hensley on April 26, 1936, at Glasgow, Ky. He died Sept. 9, 1996. Surviving are two sons, Harold (Wanda) Hensley, Chenoa, and Charles (Doris) Hensley, Pontiac; three daughters, Shirley (Bill) Magness, Waldo, Marilyn Hall, and Frances (Steve) Anderson, Bloomington; two sisters' Callie Sisk, Madisonville, and Bessie Clark, Louisville, Ky; two brothers, Bill Spradlin, Louisville, and Levi Spradlin, Elizabethtown, five grandchildren, Ricky Magness, Regina Eddy, Stacie Hensley, David Hensley and Gina True; six great children; and four great-greatgrandchildren. Her parents, four brothers and one sister preceded her in death.

She was a homemaker. She was a member of Assembly of God Church, Pontiac. She loved to play Chinese checkers. Althea Hilscher LINCOLN Althea Hilscher, 92, of Lincoln died at 9 p.m. Saturday (Jan.

1, 2005) at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Lincoln. Service: memorial Mass at a later date. Cremation rites will be accorded. Burial: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Seneca. Fricke-CalvertSchrader Funeral Home, Lincoln, is in charge of arrangements.

Visitation: none. Memorials: Lifeline. Survivor: one nephew, Don (Mary) Hilscher, Lincoln. The Pantagraph Tuesday, January 4, 2005 A7 OBITUARIES Ford, Mark 2 p.m. at Calvert Funeral Home, Clinton.

Gilmore, Lyle 11 a.m. at Calvert Froelich Memorial Home, Gridley. Harris, William 1 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, Pontiac. Huisinga, Raymond 7 p.m.

at Trigg Calvert DeLand Chapel. Schrock, Glenn, 11 a.m. Calvary Mennonite Church, Washington. Vaughan, Raymond 11 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington.

Wendel, Alexis, 10:30 a.m. at Tremont United Methodist Church, Tremont. Funerals pending Foster, Lura "Nanny," 75, of DeWitt, 10:05 a.m. Monday (Jan. 3, 2005) at BroMenn Regional Medical Center, Normal.

Calvert Funeral Home, Clinton. Hruska, Mary 48, of Urbana, formerly of Normal, 8:50 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 2, 2005) at her home. Renner-Wikoff Chapel, Urbana.

Lucille Klein STREATOR Lucille L. Klein, 77, a of 1514 Highland Place, Streator, died Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at St. Mary's Hospital, Streator. Service: memorial Mass at noon Saturday at St.

Stephen's Church, Streator, the Rev. Peter Pilon officiating. Inurnment: St. Stephen's Cemetery, Streator. Memorial visitation: 11 to 11:45 a.m.

Saturday at Solon, Baker Telford Funeral Home, Streator. Memorials: American Society. Survivor: sister-in-law, (Randolph) Coleman, niq, Texas. Dorothy Plapp Lucille Klein Cancer Betty San Anto- HUDSON Dorothy L. Plapp, 81, formerly of rural Maple Park, mother of a Hudson resident, passed away Saturday (Jan.

1, 2005) at the home of her daughter, Susan C. Mitchell, in Monroe, Ga. She was born April 10, 1923, in DeKalb, the daughter of Ralph A. and Mabel M. Huffstetter Taylor.

She married Everett J. Plapp on June 23, 1956, at the Pierce Evangelical United Brethren Church. Dorothy was employed by Diamond Wire in Sycamore before she partnered with Everett to manage the family dairy, chicken, trucking and grain operations. She was a member of the Pierce United Methodist Church and the DeKalb County Home Extension. Dorothy enjoyed card games, handicrafts, dancing and bowling.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan (John) Mitchell of Monroe, her son, Gary (Judy) Magnuson of Hudson; five grandchildren, Gregory Magnuson, Timothy Magnuson, John (Margaret) Mitchell, Jim (Colleen) Mitchell and Peter Mitchell; 10 great-grandchildren; her sister, Carol (Carl) Lindeberg DeKalb; several nieces and nephews; and several grandnieces and grandnephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Everett, on Sept. 1, 2004; her parents; and two grandchildren, Rebecca and Geoffrey Magnuson. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Anderson Funeral Home in DeKalb with the Rev.

Sandra Graber of the Cortland United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will follow the service at the East Pierce Cemetery in rural Maple Park. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Anderson Funeral Home. A memorial is being established for Dorothy L.

Plapp in care of the Anderson Funeral Home, P.O. Box, 605, 2011 S. Fourth DeKalb, IL 60115. For further information, please call (815) 756-1022. Dorothy Jean Roy LeROY Dorothy Jean Roy, 61, of Morganton, a native of LeRoy, died Dec.

28, 2004, at her residence in Morganton. Service: private family service will be planned at a later date. Akins Funeral Home of Blue Ridge, is in charge of arrangements. Memorials: Fannin County Volunteer Fire Department. Survivors: two sisters, Judy Atherton, Congerville, and Jane Owens, LeRoy; and one brother, Robert Roy, Washington.

Marilyn Troyer CLINTON Marilyn M. Troyer, 80, of Clinton died at 1:55 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 2, 2005) at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington.

Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Calvert Funeral Home, Clinton, Pastor Paul Froese and Pastor Robert E. Rose officiating. Burial will be in Oak Park Cemetery, Clinton. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday at the funeral home. She was born April 1, 1924, at Decatur to Obed and Mae Sallee Holmes. She married Herbert W. Troyer on Oct. 12, 1946, at Mount Pulaski.

He passed away April 30, 1993. Surviving are one daughter, Shari LaRue, Clinton; one son, John Troyer, Clinton; four grandchildren, Jeff Mandrell, Denver, Chad LaRue, Craigsville, Randy Troyer, Farmer City; and Johnna LaRue, Urbana; five great-grandchildren; and one brother, John Holmes, Mount Pulaski. was preceded by two brothers, Everett and Harold Holmes, and one sister, Evelyn Holmes. She was a member of the United Methodist Church. Edith Weedman FARMER CITY Edith Weedman, 79, of rural Farmer City passed away at 5:17 p.m.

Sunday (Jan. 2, 2005) at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. A private family memorial service will be today at the home of her son, Mark Weedman, Mahomet, with her son, Pastor Jim Weedman, officiating. There will be no visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Heart Association.

Calvert-Belangee-Bruce Funeral Home, 106 N. Main Farmer City, is in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Weedman was born Jan. 17, Edith 1925, at Faubush, Weedman a daughter of Denny W.

and Clotha Ann Bland Foster. She married Herbert Weedman on June 6, 1953, in Monticello. Surviving are her husband, Herbert Weedman, rural Farmer City; three sons, Mark (Sandy) Weedman, Mahomet; Jim (Sherry) Weedman, Newton; and Tom Weedman, Effingham; two daughters, Pam (Bill) Maibach, Morton, and Vicki (Jay) Tyler, Nashville, 14 grandchildren; 10 great great-grandchildren; one brother, Clyde "Pete" Foster, Monticello; and one half brother, Carthel (Ruth) Carender, Braidwood. She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, four brothers, two half sisters, one half brother and one grandson. Mrs.

Weedman was a 1944 graduate of DeLand Township High School, DeLand. She was a homemaker and also worked for the Drivers License Division at the Illinois state capital in Springfield; Rau in Farmer City; and the payroll department at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Mrs. Weedman was a member of Grace Church, Mahomet. She enjoyed cooking meals for her BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL Helen Besler BLOOMINGTON Helen P.

Besler, 75, of Elgin, the mother of a Bloomington resident, died Dec. 27, 2004, at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. Her memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Illinois 31 and 72, West Dundee.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. Windridge Funeral Home, 104 High Road, Cary, IL 60013, is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made to the donor's favorite charity. She was born Dec.

2, 1929, in Chicago to Walter and Jean Dobrzeniecki. She married Edward R. Besler on Sept. 5, 1953, in Chicago. Survivors include her husband, Edward R.

Besler of Elgin; her daughter, Cathleen (Edmund) Warchal of Island Lake; three sons, David (Anne) Besler of Bloomington; Daniel (Donna) Besler of Woodstock: and Richard (Judy) Besler of Wonder Lake; nine grandchildren, Abby and Michael Warchal, and Margaret, Patrick, Colleen, Kalley, Molly, Carly and Emily Besler; one sister, Phyllis Filipiak of Arizona and the late John Filipiak; one brother, Eugene (Lillian) Dobrzeniecki of Calumet City; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents. She worked 21 years as a supervisor at Oaks Manufacturing and was a member of the Oak Manufacturing retirement club. Mildred Foster BLOOMINGTON Mildred D. Foster, 100, of Decatur, formerly of Waynesville and Bloomington, died at 5:50 a.m.

Sunday (Jan. 2, 2005) at Lincoln Manor, Decatur. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Calvert Metzler Memorial Home, Bloomington, the Rev. James Warren officiating.

Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery, Clinton. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday at the memorial home. Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children or a charity of the donor's choice. She was born Feb.

25, 1904, at Waynesville, the daughter of Robert and Jennie Mae Davis Selby. She married Howard E. Foster on April 21, 1946, at Clinton. He died Jan. 21, 1973.

Among the survivors is a niece, Bobbye Collins, Ashland City, two great one great-nephew; and several greatgreat-nieces and nephews. Her parents, a brother and two sisters preceded her in death. Mrs. Foster was a member of First Christian Church, Bloomington, and the Order of the Eastern Star chapter at Waynesville. She was a beautician in Waynesville for 25 years, retiring in 1946.

James Patrick Hempen BLOOMINGTON James Patrick Hempen, 4 months, of 14544 Brian Drive, Bloomington, died at 12:10 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 1, 2005) at his residence. His funeral will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Calvert Metzler Memorial Home, Bloomington, the Rev.

Jim Smiley officiating. Burial will be at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the memorial home. In lieu of flowers, James' parents would like those that would like to remember James in the form of a remembrance for their memorial to be to spend more quality time with their own children and their families, and to pray for the future of our family.

James was born Aug. 25, 2004, at Normal, the son of Steven and Leanne Clark Hempen. Survivors include his parents, Bloomington; a brother Michael; his paternal grandparents, Joyce and Harold Hempen, Park Forrest; his maternal grandparents, Mae and Ken Clark, Pontiac; as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by a brother, Matthew, and his paternal grandmother, Lillie Hempen. The family is affiliated with Eastview Christian Church, Normal.

Richard Johnson NORMAL Richard Mark Johnson, 71, of Bloomington, formerly of Normal, died Sunday morning (Jan. 2, 2005) in the Bloomington Hospital. Born May 28, 1933, in Sterling, he was the son of C. Paul Johnson and Mabel Stone Johnson. He was a graduate of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Iowa.

He had owned and operated Johnson's Drug Store in Savanna for 10 years. He later was a drug representative for Merck, Sharp and Dohme in Normal. In 1978, he moved to Bloomington, during the great blizzard and became the district manager in the state of Indiana for Merck, Sharp and Dohme. He retired in 1994. During his lifetime he had lived in Sterling; Clinton, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa; Savanna; Normal; and Bloomington, Ind.

He was also an avid Chicago Cubs fan. Survivors include his wife, Joyce Cronk Johnson of Bloomington, three sons, Mark Johnson of Pendleton, Paul Johnson of Jacksonville, and Michael Johnson of Bloomington, one brother, C. Paul Johnson of Jacksonville, and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; one daughter, Sarah Jane Johnson; and one brother, Robert S. Johnson.

There will be no services or visitation held at this time. Day Funeral Home in Bloomington, is in charge of arrangements. TEMPUR-PEDIC Pressure Relieving Mattress STORE NOW OPEN SUNDAY 12 5 p.m. 1407 N. Veterans Parkway Lakewood Plaza Shopping Center 664-1105 489139 Bush visit will raise county's high profile By Ryan Keith ASSOCIATED PRESS SPRINGFIELD President Bush plans to use his first trip of the new year to visit a little southern Illinois county with a big reputation as one of the country's best places for lawyers to file enormous lawsuits.

Labeled a "judicial hellhole" by one group, Madison County is already a focal point in the national debate over lawsuit reform, and Bush's presence is certain to raise its profile even higher. During a visit to Collinsville Wednesday, Bush will address more than 1,000 doctors, business leaders and Republican officials on reining in lawsuits that the president says have driven up the cost of health care, Bush spokesman Jim Morrell said Monday. Supporters hope the president's visit will build momentum for federal and state responses to the calls for change. Doctors in Illinois and throughout the nation say costly lawsuits are pushing up their malpractice insurance rates and forcing them out of business. Madison County, just across the Mississippi River from St.

Louis, has become a key battleground. "Madison County really does symbolize all that is wrong from a tort reform perspective and what needs to be changed," said Lisa Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. The American Tort Reform Association dubbed it the nation's top "judicial hellhole" the last two years, blasting its reputation for handing out big awards and allowing lawsuits that would be thrown out in other districts. The chance to elect a judge from the area to the Illinois Supreme Court, which is considering the Philip Morris case and others, turned into an expensive battle between national interest groups last fall.

Organizations representing doctors, lawyers and insurance companies donated more than $8.5 million to the two candidates, making it the most expensive state court race in American history. The winner was a Republican whose supporters favor more restrictions on lawsuits, such as limiting damages for pain and suffering or tightening the criteria for filing cases. But these efforts have stalled in Congress and the Illinois Legislature, thanks in part to strong opposition from trial lawyers who want to protect victims' rights to sue when they are injured. Bush made lawsuit reform a key part of his re-election campaign last fall, and supporters expect his visit will force reticent leaders in Springfield and Washington, D.C., to reconsider their opposition. Edith Obama downplays his place in history ley, tiac, at at By Liz Sidoti ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C.

On the eve of taking office, the most watched new arrival in the nation's capital says it's way too early to talk about his place in history. "I haven't done anything yet," Barack Obama, Illinois' new senator and a rare bright spot in a Democratic Party that took it on the chin in the November elections, told reporters Monday. Obama, the first black man in the Senate in 25 years and only the fifth in history, became an overnight celebrity with his keynote address to the Democrats' convention last July in Boston. Almost overnight, the Hawaii-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, became a darling of the party. "When you start talking about history, that's measured, you know, over decades and over a lifetime of accomplish- ment," he said Monday.

"It's not measured by making a speech or getting elected to A state senator from Chicago, Obama bested a crowded Democratic primary field of seven candidates to win the party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. He easily defeated Republican Alan Keyes in the general election after the original GOP nominee, investment banker Jack Ryan, dropped out when embarrassing sex allegations surfaced in divorce papers. Democrats have high hopes for the 43-year-old Obama.

Even before he reached Washington, D.C., talk swirled of an Obama run for president in 2008. It's a notion Obama dismisses: "I'm not running for national office. I am here to be sworn in as the United States senator from the state of Illinois. I will not be running for president in '08." Former congresswoman 'never stopped fighting' By Coralie Carlson She had been in declining ASSOCIATED PRESS health since suffering a series of small strokes last summer MIAMI Shirley Chisholm, and died Saturday at age 80. an advocate for minority During her last week, she rerights who became the first quired care in black woman elected to Con- rounda nursing home near her Orgress and later the first black mond Beach home, said Willie person to seek Kimmons, her godson.

a major party's Chisholm ran for the Demonomination for cratic presidential nomination the U.S. presi- in 1972, a campaign that was dency, has died. viewed as more symbolic than The Rev. Jesse practical. She won 152 deleJackson called gates before withdrawing from her a "woman the race.

of great Chisholm represented New courage." Shirley York's Bedford-Stuyvesant secChisholm, Chisholm tion of Brooklyn and served who took her until retiring in 1983. She also seat in the U.S. House in 1969, was a founding member of the was a riveting speaker who of- Congressional Black Caucus. ten criticized Congress as be- "She was an activist and she ing too clubby and unrespon- never stopped fighting," Jacksive. son told The Associated Press An outspoken champion of from Ohio.

women and minorities during "She refused to accept the seven terms in the House, she ordinary, and she had high exalso was a staunch critic of the pectations for herself and all Vietnam War. people around her." Calvert funeral Clinton homes Caring for your loved one, following your wishes. Alex A. Calvert, Director Family Owned Operated.