Departed Brethren of Ogden Lodge

Departed Brethren of Ogden Lodge

Our Brother, has reached the end of his earthly toils. The brittle thread which bound him to earth has been severed and the liberated spirit has winged its flight to the unknown world. The silver cord is loosed; the golden bowl is broken; the pitcher is broken at the fountain; and the wheel is broken at the cistern. The dust has returned to the earth as it was, and the spirit has returned to God who gave it.

Soft and safe to thee, my Brother, be thy resting place! Bright and glorious be thy rising from it! Fragrant be the acacia sprig that there shall flourish! May the earliest buds of spring unfold their beauties o'er thy resting place, and there may the sweetness of the summer's last rose linger longest! Though the winds of Autumn may destroy the loveliness of their existence, yet the destruction is not final, and in the springtime, they shall surely bloom again. So, in the bright morning of the resurrection, thy spirit shall spring into newness of life and expand in immortal beauty, in realms beyond the skies. Until then, dear Brother, until then, farewell!

Leon Wright

DANVILLE – Leon A. Wright, 88, of Danville, formerly of Fithian, passed away at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at the Hawthorne Inn, with his family by his side.

Leon was born on Jan. 3, 1920, in Royal, the son of James and Beatrice (Silkey) Wright. Leon married Lois Smoot Huckin on Dec. 7, 1940, at her parent's home in Fithian.

She survives. They celebrated their 67th anniversary in December.

Leon and Lois have two children, Lee A. (Gayle Witsman) Wright of Tilton and L. Ann (Mike Metzen) Wright of Fithian. They have four grandchildren, Shelley Prickett of Palm Beach, Florida, Brad A Wright of Tilton, Shanon K. Smith and Jade Smith of Champaign, and they have three great-grandchildren, Taylor Payne and Madison Prickett both of Palm Beach, Florida and Cali Wright of Tilton. Also surviving are his three sisters, Margaret Jamison of Catlin, Nora (Cliff) Jolley of Fairmount and Kathryn McDonald of Martin, Tennessee. Leon is survived by many nieces and nephews whom he dearly loved.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, James Wright Jr., and one infant sister.

Leon farmed for over 40 years in the Fithian area after working for the University of Illinois for seven years. Leon retired from farming in 1993. He was a member of the Farm Bureau, Ogden American Legion and the Ogden Masonic Lodge. Leon loved family, farming and going to Florida in the winter. He enjoyed all sports and especially the Chicago Cubs and the Bears.

A Celebration of the Life of Leon A. Wright will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 2008, at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, with Reverend Kim Dancey officiating. Visitation will be from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Stearns Cemetery following the service.

Memorials may be made to the Fithian United Methodist Church or to the Vermilion County Conservation District.

E-mail condolences may be sent to the family at: www.sunsetfuneralhome.com.

Published in The News-Gazette on 7/11/2008

Wilbur Warnes

URBANA – Wilbur C. Warnes 95, of Urbana, formerly of Longview, passed
away at 8:20 p.m. Monday (March 31, 2008) at Champaign County Nursing
Home, Urbana.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, April 4, 2008, at Tolono
United Methodist Church, 301 N. Bourne, Tolono, with Rev. James
Wheeler officiating. Burial will be at Fairfield Cemetery, Newman.
Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Friday at the church.

Freese Funeral Home, St. Joseph, is handling arrangements.

Mr. Warnes was born March 4, 1913, in Longview, a son to John H. And
Edyth Anderson Warnes. He married Lois L. Burgett on June 25, 1939 in
Hugo. She preceded in death on Jan. 12, 2008.

Surviving are two sons, John (Jo Ann) Warnes of Savoy and Jerry
(Sharon) Warnes of Tolono; five grandchildren, Lori (Chuck)
Eisenmenger of Longview, Jeri (Mike) Luth of Newman, Todd (Cathy)
Warnes of Philo, Matthew (Julie) Warnes of Tolono, and Christopher
(Kristine) Warnes of Naperville; and seven great-grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by a sister and two brothers.

Mr. Warnes graduated from Longview High School in 1930. He was
presently a member of Tolono United Methodist Church and formerly a
member of Longview Methodist Church for 90 years. He retired from
farming in 1978 and was a member of Champaign County Farm Bureau. He
was also a life member of Broadlands Masonic Lodge #791 and Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of Danville.

He wintered in Clermont, Fla., for 20 years. He enjoyed gardening, his
children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He also liked to
listen to Illini sports.

Memorials may be made to Tolono United Methodist Church or Cunningham
Children's Home.

Published in The News-Gazette on 4/2/2008.

Morgan Arthur 'Art' Grimm

— Morgan Arthur "Art" Grimm, 95, of Covington, died at 1:07 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, at Provena United Samaritans Medical Center.
Arthur was born July 6, 1912, in Newport, the son of Morgan L. and Hannah (Knapp) Grimm. He married Hazel Maxine Biggs on June 2, 1940, in Olney, Ill. She preceded him death on Dec. 1, 2006.
Arthur's life revolved around his family and farming. He farmed all his life, first with his father and his brother, Russell Grimm, in Indiana. Then, the Grimm families moved to Fithian, Ill., where he and his brother continued to farm together. They farmed the "Fithian Farm" for 26 years until he retired in 1978. He loved farming and still enjoyed seeing the fields during planting and harvest seasons.
Arthur loved his family and in his words had "a beautiful life" of 95 years. He was known for his devotion to his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Arthur was a 50-year member of Ogden Lodge 754 and Scottish Rite, Valley of Danville. He enjoyed traveling, reading, playing cards, hunting with his dogs (especially his favorite birddog, Patch), mushroom hunting and walking in the "great outdoors."
Arthur is dearly loved; and, in his later years, his "girls" enjoyed spoiling him. He held to the principles of hard work, honesty, and other traditional mid-western values which he passed on to his family. He was in every way the head of his family.
He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, one brother, James Russell Grimm, and four sisters, Anna Winland, Rena Hollingsworth, Creal Kay and Nellie Norman and son-in-law, Ray Pollock. Survivors include: his three daughters, Judy (Jim) Marietta of Clinton, Connie (Jim) Bensyl of Covington and Carol Pollock of Perrysville. He has five grandchildren: Jim (Debbie) Marietta, Viv (Jim) Dudley, Rick Marietta, Tammy (Brett) Burchett, and Brandi (Timothy) Riley. He also has seven great-grandchildren: Jessica and Michael Marietta, Cole and Dane Dudley, Taryn and Kelsey Kellams and Garrett Marietta.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, at Shelby Funeral Home in Covington. Visitation will be held preceding the funeral from 1:30-3 p.m. EST.