All Obituaries

Oregon – Gary K. Black, age 74, died Sunday, September 19, 2021 at KSB Hospital in Dixon, IL.  He was born March 12, 1947 in Oregon, IL the son of Pete and Lillian (Merritt) Black.  Gary graduated from Oregon High School in 1965.  He served is country in the U.S. Army from 1965 – 1968.  He worked for PBM Concrete in Rochelle for 35 years and then 9 years for Rockford Systems.  Gary married Pamela Oelke on February 6, 1987 in Oregon, IL.  He was a...

 George D. “Charlie” Jones, 85, lifelong Oregon resident, died Wednesday, September 15, 2021 in Swedish-American Hospital, Rockford. Born June 21, 1936 in Oregon, the son of George and Hazel (Matthews) Jones. Married to Patricia Mon July 4, 1958 in Byron. Charlie attended Oregon schools and was a US Army veteran. He was employed 37 years at E.D. Etnyre in Oregon, retiring in 2006. Charlie loved fishing, hunting and gardening. Survived by his wife, Pat Jones of Oregon; son,...

 Willis B. “Willie” Cline, 93, lifelong Oregon resident, passed away Monday, September 13, 2021 in Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home, Mt. Morris. Born May 4, 1928 in Oregon, the son of Thomas and Ruth (Cox) Cline. Will graduated from Oregon High School in1946. His wife of 38 years Donna A. (Reinders) Cline predeceased him on June 9, 2019 and his first wife Rosemary (Moore) Cline predeceased him on August 6, 1974. Willis was a US Army veteran who served our country during the...

Robert Kenneth Kretsinger, age 91, of Leaf River, passed away on September 11, 2021 at Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon.             Robert “Bob Kret” and his twin brother Richard were born on June 11, 1930 to Kenneth and Jessie (Nichols) Kretsinger in Leaf River, IL. After Robert graduated from Leaf River High School in 1948, he began working at Kable Printing in Mt. Morris, IL. He joined the United States Marine Corps...

Leroy “Lee” Johnson, age 85, of Rockford, formally of Stillman Valley, passed away on September 10, 2021 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center. He was born on December 4, 1935 the son of Monroe and Ida (Larson) Johnson. Lee graduated from Monroe Center High School. He married Margaret “Anne” Swim on December 28, 1957 in Dixon; she preceded him in death. He worked for many years for Greenlee Textron before he retired in 1997. He was a member of the Congregational Christian...

 Donna J. Taft, 94, lifelong Oregon resident, died Friday, September 10, 2021 in Prairie Crossing Living & Rehabilitation Center, Shabbona. Born December 29, 1926 in Oregon, the daughter of Edward and Bernice (Moats) Fulton. Married to Bradley Taft March 24, 1946 in Keokuk. Iowa; he died March 3, 2009. Donna was a graduate of Oregon High School. She worked as a volunteer teacher’s aid in reading at Oregon elementary schools and for Meals on Wheels. Donna was a seamstress who...

Gene W. Beauchem, 80, lifelong Oregon resident, died Sunday, September 5, 2021 in KSB Hospital, Dixon. Born June 9, 1941 in Oquawka, IL the son of Eugene and Margaret (Stubbs) Beauchem. He was a 1959 graduate of Oregon High School. Married to Dorothy Parsons March 18, 1962 in Oquawka. Gene was employed at E.D. Etnyre in Oregon 1962 – 1979, at Pratts in Dixon and then operated his own welding shop. For the past 4 years, he volunteered driving veterans to their medical appointments. Gene...

 Patricia A. Mott, 72, died Friday, September 3, 2021 at KSB Hospital, Dixon. She was a resident of Oregon for the past 39 years coming from Lombard. Born March 17, 1949 in Chicago, the daughter of Harold D. and Mary Lois (Schumacher) Murray. Married to Elwood C. Mott December 18, 1965 in Chicago. While in Lombard, Pat was head librarian at Green Valley Elementary School and a Cub Scout Den Mother in the 1970’s. She was always doing arts and crafts and ran the Farmers’...

Byron – Donna M. Oltmanns, age 85, died peacefully on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021 at the Generations at Neighbor’s Rehabilitation Center in Byron.  She was born August 5, 1936 in Eldora, Iowa the daughter of Clifton and Helen (Bridges) Adams.  She attended Morris Kennedy School in Rockford.  Donna previously worked at Kable Printing in Mt. Morris and Greenlee Brother’s in Rockford.  She married Donald G. Oltmanns on January 8, 1955 in Rockford, IL.  She...

Mary Ruth Fischer, age 84, of Stillman Valley passed away on September 1, 2021 in Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon. She was born in Rockford on March 9, 1937 the daughter of Wayne and Mary Agnes (Jones) Erxleben. Mary graduated from Stillman Valley High School the class of 1956. She married John T. Fischer on June 3, 1956 in Stillman Valley. She worked for 32 years driving school busses for the Meridian School District and also worked for Rockford Products for 9 years. Mary was an avid...