Obituaries: Slagel

Thelma SlagelThelma Slagel

Thelma Slagel, 96, of Fairbury, passed away at 11:55 a.m., May 20, at OSF St. James-John Albrecht Medical Center, Pontiac.

Her funeral will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, Apostolic Christian Church, Fairbury. Ministers of the church will be officiating.

Burial will be in Apostolic Christian Cemetery, Fairbury.

Visitation will be held from 4-7:00 p.m., Monday, at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury and 9-9:45am, Tuesday at the church.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to South Eastern Livingston County Ambulance Association.

Thelma was born Nov. 22, 1919, in Fairbury the daughter of George and Margaret Peters Zimmerman.

She married Joseph Urban Slagel on April 25, 1940 in Fairbury. He passed away Oct. 9, 1988.

Surviving are her daughter, Patricia Ann Fleming of Nags Head, N.C.; sons, Gary Allen (Patricia) Slagel of Richardson, Texas and Dale Everett (Carla) Slagel of Midlothian, Va.; grandchildren, Zachary (Noelle) Slagel, Matthew (Laura) Slagel, Catherine (David) Story, Jeff Eubanks, Debbie (Stan) Bradshaw, Kathy Slagel, Kristin Slagel, Greg (Maki) Fleming, and Chris (Christi) Fleming; great-grandchildren, Asher and Emmett Slagel, Gia Slagel, Ethan and Benjamin Story, Daniel and Hannah Eubanks, Brad and Patrick Bradshaw, Aiko Fleming, Cassidy and Bentley Fleming; brother, Donald Zimmerman, Fairbury and sister, Florence Koch of Tremont.

She was preceded in death by her parents, granddaughter, Cindy Eubanks, and two sisters, Eldora Steinle and Ann VanAntwerp.

Thelma graduated from Fairbury Township High School in 1938. She worked for Joe Slagel Insurance Agency from 1939-1979, then Slagel-Stoller Insurance Agency from 1979; which became Metz-Stoller Insurance Agency until 2009 when she retired.

She was member of the Apostolic Christian Church, Fairbury and a den mother for cub scouts.

Condolences and tributes may be made to the family at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…