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.

Dennis Ray Pollitt

Dennis Ray Pollitt, 71, of Canton, IL passed away at home on Saturday, July 11, 2026 surrounded by his loved ones. Denny was born on May 30, 1955 in Canton, IL to LeRoy and Effie Mae Pollitt. He married Mary Ulm on May 30, 1989 in Fort Collins, Colorado.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, four sons, Jason (Julie) Pollitt of Washington, IL, Dustin (Jennie) Pollitt of Morton, IL, Tim (Danielle) Pollitt of Flanagan, IL, and Derek Pollitt of Canton, IL, and 10 grandchildren, Kali, Tanner, Dawsyn, Jaxsyn, Brock, Abby, Jordon, Brennan, Kora, and Aubry. He is also survived by one sister, Bonnie (Steve) Breese of Canton, IL and one brother, Ed (Lisa) Pollitt of Canton, IL.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son Daniel Pollitt, sisters, Velma Schmidtberger and Elma Prederick, and brothers Dave McGinnis, Bill Pollitt, and Gary Pollitt.

Denny first worked at International Harvester, and later worked for Morey Farms, London Mills. He loved to be in the woods and on the water fishing. He spent several years camping in Missouri with Mary. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, taking them fishing and hunting. His grandkids were the joy of his life.

Per Denny’s wishes, there will be no services. There will be a celebration of Life on July 25, 2026 from 1:30pm- 4:00 pm at the American Legion in Canton, IL. Memorials may be made to the Fulton County Humane Society. Online condolences may be left at www.sedgwickfuneralhomes.com

Lois G. “Jennie” Friedrich

Lois G. “Jennie” Friedrich, age 98, of Canton, Illinois, formerly of Astoria, Illinois, passed away on Friday, July 10, 2026 at Red Oak in Canton. She was born on September 10, 1927 in Rich Hill, Missouri, the daughter of Joseph and Lois (Smith) Markello. On April 10, 1946, Jennie married Clifford Phoebus in Palmyra, Missouri. He passed away on July 2, 1982. She later married Donald Friedrich on December 23, 1978 in Pekin, Illinois. He preceded her in death on May 7, 2024.

She was also preceded in death by her two brothers, John and William Markello and her sister Fern Kaps.

Jennie is survived by her two daughters; Joyce (and Robert) Batterton of Farmington, Illinois and Cynthia (and Dennis) Ratcliff of Astoria, four step-children; Mark Friedrich of Deland, Florida, Jon (and Grace) Friedrich of Spring Lake, Illinois, Chris Friedrich of Hannibal, Missouri and Paula Gensel of Pekin, Illinois, her sister-in-law Rose Markello of Canton, eight grandchildren; Stacey (and Richard) Meehan, Bradley (and Bambi) Beekman, Chad (and Heather) Beekman, Kelly (and Tom) Carlock, Ginger (and Milton) Briney, Tanya (and Jason) Graham, Anissa (and Matthew) Frye and Joseph (and Jannell) Ratcliff, thirty great-grandchildren and twenty-seven great-great-grandchildren.

Jennie worked as a telephone operator for the city of Astoria. She then became a licensed hair stylist, owning and operating her own beauty shop in Vermont, Illinois. She last worked for Witzig’s Clothing Store in Morton, Illinois. She also sold Figurette clothing apparel.

She enjoyed sun bathing and shopping for clothes. She loved her family dearly, always wanting to be fully informed of what was going on in their lives.

Jennie’s life will be celebrated on Monday, July 13th at 3:00 p.m. at Shawgo Memorial Home in Astoria. Pastor Hugh Carlock will officiate. Visitation will take place on Monday from 1-3 pm at the funeral home. Interment will be held in the Astoria Cemetery. Memorials in her memory may be given to Willow Ridge Hospice in Havana, Illinois or Red Oak Memory Care in Canton.

John W. “Cowboy” Phillips

Glasford –John W. “Cowboy” Phillips, 80, of Glasford, passed away Wednesday, July 8. 2026 at his residence.

He was born on September 15, 1945 in Canton to Harold and Violet (Malmgren) Phillips.

He married Sharon Meyers at Trinity Temple in Peoria on June 26, 1965. She preceded him in death on April 25, 2019.

Surviving are three children, John W. (Kathy) Phillips, of Hanna City, Amber R. (Jerry) Smithers, of Mapleton, and Jason A. (Lilia) Phillips, of Alton, six grandchildren, Gabe Smithers, Seth Phillips, Camri Phillips, Micah Phillips, Zeke Phillips, and Lucas Phillips, several nieces and nephews and sister-in-law’s Pam Locke and Linda Phillips.

He was also preceded in death by one son, Steve M. Phillips, one brother, Daryl Phillips, two sisters, Donna Locke, Jolene Hill, brother-in-law, Ed Locke and his mother and father-in-law, William and Mary Meyers.

John worked as a pressman for the Peoria Journal Star and retired after 30 years of service. John served on the Fulton County Ag Council for several years and volunteered at the Pancake and Sausage Suppers. He raised livestock on the farm for many years and enjoyed attending the 4-H livestock shows.

He was a member of the LaMarsh Baptist Church in Mapleton where a funeral service will be held on Friday, July 17, 2026 at noon with a visitation to be held two hours prior at the church. Burial will follow at Lancaster Cemetery in rural Glasford. Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton is in charge of the arrangements.

John had many good qualities but the one that stood out was his willingness to lend a hand to everyone around him.

Memorials may be made to LaMarsh Church.

To leave online condolences, or to view John’s video tribute, please visit www.oakhinesfuneralhome.com