November 18, 2020

Francis I. Powers 1934 – 2020 Frank Powers, 86, of Rockton IL, passed away on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 of a sudden illness. He was born in Peoria, IL on June 8, 1934. He is predeceased by his first wife, Rita (Anderson) Powers. In his youth, he was a caretaker at the Carmelite Monastery, located in Des Plaines IL, and...

November 17, 2020

Steve Long, 70, passed away Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at OSF Hospital. Steve was born January 13, 1950 to Delmar and Mary Jane Long. He grew up in Rockford and graduated from East High School in 1968. Steve married Jill (Holmin) on August 21, 1971. He owned Fire & Safety Equipment of Rockford for 41 years and retired in 2017....

November 16, 2020

R. Thomas Vosburgh died peacefully, in his home, at the age of 76 on November 16, 2020. He is survived by his dog Ginger and three children: Paul Vosburgh, Christine Kohut, and Carolyn Stensrud. He was preceded by death by his parents, George and Virginia of Kingston, IL. Tom graduated from Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 1966, and became a...

November 16, 2020

James E. McMullen, 88, passed away on November 16, 2020. Born on October 29, 1932 in Neelyville, Missouri, he was son to Everett and Minnie (Gayle) McMullen. Upon graduating from Neelyville High School, he moved to Rockford where he started work at Rockford Screw Products. He enlisted in the Navy in 1952, serving as an Aviation Electronics man for four...

November 16, 2020

Eugene V. Thompson passed away on November 16, 2020 at age 89. He was born in Arlington, South Dakota in July of 1931. He died peacefully at home in Rockford, Illinois with his beloved wife Trudy at his side. Eugene was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard Vernon and Mary Amanda; sister, Veryl Jean; brother, Darryl; granddaughter, Emma Grace...

November 16, 2020

Brian Daniel Barbuto, 40, of Rockford, Illinois, passed away unexpectedly at his home on November 16, 2020. He was born on November 23, 1979 in Syracuse, New York. Brian was spontaneous, the life of the party and always looking for the next adventure kind of a guy. His passion was bowling (Don Carter Lanes) with multiple 300 games and an...

November 15, 2020

Michael J. Juliano, 75 of Rockford passed away on November 15th, 2020. Born the twin son of John and Josephine (Vaccarello) Juliano on April 17th, 1945. Mike was a lifelong resident of Rockford. He attended Boylan Catholic High School and Rockford West High School, graduating in 1964. Mike married his high school sweetheart, Ann Marie (Mandala) on June 24th, 1967...

November 14, 2020

Robert A. Stuttler, 90, passed away on November 14, 2020. Born February 10, 1930 in Pleasant Lake, Indiana he was son to Russell and Hazel (Avery) Stuttler. A 1948 graduate of Pleasant Lake High School, Robert immediately went into the Marine Corp and served for four years. He then went on to marry the love of his life, Jane Diehl,...

November 14, 2020

Shirley Johnson, 80, of Byron, IL passed away peacefully on November 14, 2020, surrounded by family. She was born May 1, 1940 to Harry and Juanita “Ted” (McClellan) Speake in Rockford. She graduated from West High School in 1958, worked for a year as a secretary (someplace in Rockford kids cannot remember), and married her high school sweetheart, Keith Johnson...

November 13, 2020

Linda L. (Villarreal-Marquez) Kobler passed following a short illness on November 13, 2020. Linda was born September 23, 1950, in Oregon, Illinois to Dagoberto Villarreal and Dorothy (Sanner) Marquez. Graduated from Oregon Community High School in 1968. Completed her Nursing education at Freeport Memorial Deaconess School of Nursing in 1971. Married David A. Kobler on February 24, 1973. Married 47...

November 13, 2020

Mary K. “Meow” Bonavia, 41, of Rockford, died unexpectedly on November 13, 2020 at her home. Born in Rockford on May 8, 1979, she was the youngest child and only daughter of Peter D. & Phyllis A. (Lane) Bonavia. Mary grew up in Rockford and graduated from Guilford High School, Class of 1997. Following high school graduation, Mary attended Northern...

November 13, 2020

Carmen D. Bloom, 58, of Pecatonica, IL, died Friday, November 13, 2020. She was born on December 31, 1961, in Mt. Vernon, IL, to Carl and Lois (Breeze) Johnson. Carmen attended the Jimmy Swaggart Bible College in Baton Rouge, LA. She spent time working as a nanny, high school math teacher, and traveled with a music ministry. Carmen married Earl...

November 13, 2020

Robert Samuel LeHew was born February 16, 1944 in Dubuque Iowa. Son of Robert & Lyla LeHew. Grew up on a small farm in Clayton Iowa where fond memories included his pony, his dog Skippy and milking his favorite cow, Irma. Moved to Indiana when he was 12. One of his first jobs was caddying and later he worked as...

November 12, 2020

Richard J. Fleming (Dick) , 83, of Rockford, passed away on Thursday, November 12, 2020 in his home. Dick was born in Freeport, IL on April 10, 1937, son of Donald and Josephine (Blimm) Fleming. He proudly served his country in the United States Marine Corps. Dick married Evelyn Fluck on August 29, 1959 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in...

November 12, 2020

November 11, 2020

Frederick “Fred” R. Saunders, 83, Rockford. It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Frederick “Bucko” Saunders left this world on November 11, 2020, due to contracting Covid-19, despite following strict safety protocols. While he is gone, we are reminded of his story and the impact he had on our lives. Fred was born on March 3, 1937,...

November 10, 2020

Alex W. Smith, 87, of Rockford, IL passed away on November 10, 2020. Born February 12, 1933 in Rockford, son of Alex W. Smith Sr. and Doris (Corey) Smith. He graduated from West High School class of 1951. While at West High School Alex achieved many goals, he made top ten, ROTC captain, rifle, drill, and played football. He also...

November 9, 2020

Joseph “Joe” A. Bortoli, 90, passed away surrounded by loving family November 9, 2020. Born on June 22, 1930 he was son to Martin and Clara (DalSanto) Bortoli. Joe attended West High School, and went on to join the U.S. Army and was a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne during the Korean Conflict. A lifetime member of St. Patrick’s Catholic...

November 9, 2020

Alvina R. Stickels, 93, of Rockford, IL passed away Monday, November 9, 2020. She was born November 18, 1926 in DeKalb, IL to Walter and Mary (Miller) McAdams. Alvina married Colin Stickels in 1952 and they were married until Colin passed away in 1999. She spent over 26 years working at Sears as an Installation Scheduler. Alvina also volunteered many...

November 8, 2020

Joseph “Joe” Thomas Bruscato, 71, Rockford, passed away Sunday, November 8, 2020, in his home. He was born November 15, 1948, in Rockford, the son of Carl and Irene (LaRosa) Bruscato. Joe was a graduate of Boylan Catholic High School, class of 1966. Joe served in the Army stationed in Germany. He earned his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University...