FAIRBURY – Owen Lee McWhorter, 84, of Fairbury passed away at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 20, 2017 at Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community, Chenoa.
His funeral will be 10 a.m., Monday, July 24, 2017 at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury with Pastor Jane Roeschley officiating. Burial will follow Forrest Township cemetery, Forrest.
Visitation will be 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 23, 2017 at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Fairbury Food Pantry, Fairbury or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Owen was born November 23, 1932 in Chenoa, the son of Owen and Oscarine (Kizzee) McWhorter. He married Ruth E. White on September 30, 1950 in Forrest. His wife survives in Chenoa.
Other survivors include his children, Ronald (Denise) McWhorter of San Bernardino, CA; Rick (Sue) McWhorter of Bloomington; John (Ruth) McWhorter of Fairbury; Mark (Kathy) McWhorter of East Dundee; Susan (Greg) Myers of Fairbury; Mike (Gingie) McWhorter of Fairbury; 19 grandchildren, Jeff McWhorter, Chris McWhorter, Corey (Kim) McWhorter, Courtney McWhorter, Josh McWhorter, Christina McWhorter, Leah McWhorter, Nick (JoAnne) McWhorter, Jake McWhorter, Summer McWhorter, Shannon Welch, Andrew McWhorter, Zachary McWhorter, Cody Levin, Fallon Levin, Logan Levin, Nathan (Kristy) Myers, Jason (Jennifer) Myers and Ryan (Tiffany) Myers, and 9 great grandchildren, Drew, Caden, Trey and Crue and Kaia McWhorter and Holden and Cavinder Myers, Lincoln and Owen Myers.
Also surviving are 4 brothers, Bill (LaVerne) McWhorter of Salinas, KS; Kenneth (Sharon) McWhorter of Raytown, MO; Jim (Sheila) McWhorter of Luhring, TX; David (Valerie) McWhorter of O’Fallon, MO; 3 sisters, Sandy (LeRoy) Smith, Libby (Tim) Ahrens both of Pontiac; Ruth Ann (John) Bartuska of Burlington, WI;
He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Charles McWhorter and one sister, Patricia McWhorter.
Owen attended Strawn High School and soon after started work as a Bricklayer. He took courses at the University of Illinois, Urbana and became a Project Superintendent. He was a life member of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local #17 and a member since 1951. He worked most of his career at Charles A. Eichelkraut Construction, Ottawa. The last 10 years of his career he worked for Scandia Inc., Tampa, FL, retiring in 1994.
Owen spent many weekends on his bass boat waiting for the big catch. He loved fishing, hunting and gardening. When the boys were young, Owen was a Cub Scout Master for Pack 36 in Forrest. Above all, Owen loved his family and cherished the time he spent with them.
Condolences and tributes may be made to the family at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.
