Randal Waechter

Randal Waechter, 76, of St David, passed away on Monday July 13, 2026 at his residence.

He was born on April 6, 1950 in Peoria to Marland and Mary (Peterson) Waechter. They preceded him in death.

Surviving are three children, Nikki (Jeremy) Lowe of Colorado Springs, CO, Ryan (Ashley) Waechter of Colorado Springs, CO, Troy (Susie) Bertelsen of Havana, brother, Steve (Debbie) Waechter of Sacramento, CA sister, Rae Jean Wilson of Canton and three grandchildren, Aidyn, Lucas and Lily.

Randal was a paramedic in Fulton County retiring in 2005 and he served in the U.S. Airforce. His hobbies included fishing, hunting surfing and snow skiing. He was also known to be an outstanding cook.

He was most passionate about his grandchildren.

Cremation rites have been accorded by Oaks-Hines Funeral Home and Crematory in Canton.

In lieu of flowers please offer memorials to the St Jude Children’s Hospital.

To leave online condolences please visit oakshinesfuneralhome.com

Charles “Chuck” W. Welch

Charles “Chuck” Welch, 77, of St David, passed away on Monday, July 13, 2026 at his residence.

He was born on February 17, 1949 in Canton.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Rawleigh and Mary (Eveland) Welch.

Surviving is his son Jacob (Kimberly Hedden) Welch of Thornton, CO.

Chuck retired from Caterpillar Tractor Co after many years of service. He enjoyed going to the YMCA in Canton several days a week. He Enjoyed reading and was an avid Cubs fan and had the opportunity to see them win the World Series. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Cremation rites have been accorded by Oaks-Hines Funeral Home and Crematory in Canton.

Chuck was a cat lover and the family asks in lieu of flowers please offer memorials to the Fulton County Humane Society.

To leave online condolences please visit oakshinesfuneralhome.com

Mark Robert Bradley

Mark R. Bradley, age 77, died on July 11, 2026. He was born on September 5, 1948 to Phyllis Flowers Hornstein from Miami, Florida and Jack L. Bradley from Havana, Illinois.

Mark was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1975, retired from the IDOC at Illinois River Corrections Center in Canton, and continued to enjoy pool leagues and his puppies.
Cremation rites have been accorded and no services are planned at this time.
Hurley Funeral Home in Havana is in charge of arrangements.

Mary L. Staley

Early in the afternoon of Monday, July 13, 2026, Mary Leann (Strode) Staley, age 88, went to Heaven to celebrate 53 years of marriage with George L Staley. Born December 16, 1937 to Glenn and Hildreth (Grove) Strode in Smithfield IL.

After attending school in Smithfield and graduating from Cuba High School, Mary went to Browns Business School in Peoria IL. She was a secretary at Fireman Funds Home Insurances. In January 1959, Mary started work at Caterpillar as a secretary. Mary filed blueprints and worked in pricing. She was one of the first women to work a man’s job. She started in tool control and finished creating office layouts. She retired in January 1989 after 30 years of employment.

Mary and George were married July 14, 1973. They enjoyed camping and riding their horses on trail rides. They eventually started a business manufacturing trailers which led to restoring vintage street rods. Mary upholstered car seats and door panels as well as sanding the vehicles. They traveled the US to attend shows with other street rod enthusiasts.

She is survived by her daughter Deon Denise (Doug) Hire and sons George “Mike” (Kim) Staley and Elbert “Chris” (Kathy) Staley. She was a proud grandma to Michael (Joni) Staley and the late Jared Staley, Jennifer Hire, Jason (Jaimie) Hire, Krista (Brady) Wilson, and Heather (Parke) Greeson. A doting nana to six great grandchildren. A wonderful aunt to Doug (Cindy) Marshall, Brad (April Smith) Marshall and Lori (Bruce) Steger.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George L Staley, her sister Cookie Marshall, her brother Glenn Allen Strode and grandson Jared T. Staley.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at Anderson-Sedgwick Funeral Home in Farmington IL. Graveside service will be held the same day at 11:30 AM at Trivoli Cemetery in Trivoli IL. Pastor Jacque Young will officiate. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Donor’s choice. To leave an online condolence you may go to www.sedgwickfuneralhomes.com

Kathleen Phillips

Kathleen M (Kathy) Phillips, 79 of Wee Ma Tuk, Canton Illinois, passed away on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026. She was born on May 25, 1947 in Glenview, Illinois to James J O'Neill and Mary M, (Glynn) O'Neill. They preceded her in death. Also preceding her in death are brother James P. O'Neill, and sisters Margaret (Peggy) Cser, Mickey O'Neill and Mary F. Johnson.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years William (Bill) Phillips, two children, Benjamin W (Andrea) Phillips and Christine M(Vince) Fournier both of Canton Illinois, siblings, Maureen (Jim) Reevs, Marquette MI, Patricia (Mark) Peterson, Wheat Ridge Colorado, Jeff O’Neill, Dickinson North Dakota, Christopher (Elizabeth) O’Neill, East Otto NY and Joseph (Teka) O’Neill, Canton. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Maya and Will Phillips, Eleanor, Sam, Louis, Claire, and Nate Fournier.

Kathy graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Dayton University. She worked as a lab technician at Havana Hospital and at Graham Hospital in Canton. She received a Master of Business Administration degree from Illinois State University and managed the laboratory at Coleman Clinic. She worked in various management positions for Graham Hospital until she retired in 2015.

Kathy valued our community and showed this through her many years of service to local organizations. She served on the Canton School District Board of Education and served as president. She was a board member at the Canton Family YMCA for over 20 years and enjoyed helping with YMCA programs, landscaping, and garden projects.

Kathy had a passion for gardening. She was a U of I Master Gardener and helped in many capacities annually for the Gardeners Big Day in Fulton County. She enjoyed these events with her friends and discussed pizza crusts and fixings with Father Dominic. Kathy helped with local gardening projects at the Canton Family YMCA, Canton Park District and other locations throughout the community.

Kathy loved traveling and visited 42 National Parks with her husband. They were also fortunate to travel to Ireland, Italy, Hawaii and Alaska. She loved playing tennis, pickleball, cross country skiing and walking at Lakeland Park.

She cherished family time and took great care of her siblings, children and grandchildren. She arranged family vacations, planned reunions, and enjoyed celebrating her Irish heritage through festivals, music, food, and an annual contest to see which grandchild could build the best trap to catch a Leprechaun. She enjoyed creating clues for the annual family Easter egg hunt to see which grandchild could find the hidden chest filled with toys and chocolate.

She will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at noon with a visitation to be held 2 hours prior to service at Oaks Hines Funeral Home in Canton.

Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Canton.

Memorials may be made to the Canton Family YMCA or to the Canton Park District.

To leave online condolences please visit oakshinesfuneralhome.com

Bonnie J. Berry

Bonnie J. Berry, 93, of Chandler, AZ, and Canton, IL passed away on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

She was born on June 30, 1933 in Lewistown to James and Bessie (Brewer) Seward.

Married Harold E Berry on June 30, 1953 in Texas. Husband passed away July 6, 2024.

Surviving are her children, Jack Berry of Canton, IL, Nancy Berry of Michigan, Beth (Joe) Fierro of Linville, VA.

Ten grandchildren; Christine, Douglas, James, Christopher, Joshua, Jonathan, Rachel, Alex, Rae and Valerie and twelve great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by one son, James Berry, two sisters, Betty Thum, Barb Savill, two brothers, Donald Seward, and Larry Seward.

Bonnie graduated from Canton High School, worked at the Garden Theatre during her high school age and had a lot of fond memories during that time. Family was very important to Bonnie. Always enjoyed visiting with family and friends. She studied genealogy. Enjoyed gardening with flowers. Bonnie was a homemaker for many years and after the family moved to Arizona in 1968, she worked for the Phoenix Union School District as an administrator. Bonnie and her husband, Harold, bought a Fifth wheel trailer after retiring and traveled the US and Mexico for many years. They both loved meeting so many people that became a big part of their life.

Flowers can be sent to Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton, IL until July 31, 2026.

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America alzfdn.org

Yvonne G. Blakesmith

Yvonne G. Blakesmith, 88, of Marrietta, passed away, Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Graham Hospital in Canton.

She was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 25, 1938, to Edward and Hazel (Higgins) Metro. They preceded her in death, as well as a grandson Jacob Green

Yvonne is survived by her husband of 67 years, Jack L. Blakesmith Sr., they were married on May 1, 1959, in California. She grew up in Arcadia California, and later moved to Canton after meeting Jack.

Also surviving two sons, Don (Denise) Blakesmith of Rapatee, John (Felicia) Blakesmith of Marrietta, two step children, Debbie (Stanley) Green of LaGrange California, and Jack L. Blakesmith Jr. of Oakdale California, brother, Steven (Sue) Metro of Vista California, nine grandchildren, Julie (Pascal), Zachary (Mollie), Alexandra (Corey), Michael (Tori), Taleia, Tyson, Melissa, Jack III, and Samantha, sixteen great grandchildren, Presley, Savanna, Iva, Sarah, Henry Derrian, Maleah, Asher, Roen, Jacob II, Jacob, James, Alyssa, Justin, Adrianna, and Brandon, and one great great grandson.

Yvonne was a dedicated farm wife, she enjoyed working in her yard, loved her flowers, watching westerns, and looked forward to mushroom hunting every spring. She also enjoyed car shows, traveling, going to Las Vegas, and going out to dinner. Most of all Yvonne enjoyed spending time with her family.

A visitation will be held Friday, July 17, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. and a graveside service will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Canton.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.