WILLIAM JACOB METZEN
, age 9, of Amboy, died Thursday, July 23, 2009, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria.
Jake was born Dec. 27, 1999, in Dixon, the son of William T. and Lori (Eisenberg) Metzen. He was a third-grader at Amboy Central School, and played baseball and football. Jake also was an avid gamer and loved swimming.
He is survived by his parents, William (Karen) Metzen and Lori (Philip) Gould, both of Amboy; brothers, Austin Becker and Justin Hart; sisters, Tiffany Becker, Heather Becker, Brittany Metzen, Samantha Metzen, and Lindsay Hart; and grandparents, Ronald (Bette) Metzen of Franklin Grove, and Larry (Diana) Eisenberg, Evelyn Eisenberg, Robert Gould, and Marjorie Guenzler, all of Amboy.
He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Shirley Gould.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Amboy, with the Rev. Vicki Sauter, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow at Prairie Repose Cemetery, Amboy. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the church. Arrangements were completed by Mihm-Jones Funeral Home, Amboy.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to the Children's Miracle Network.
LAKE THUNDERBIRD — A 9-year-old was pronounced dead Thursday night about three hours after being pulled from Lake Thunderbird, where he had been swimming.
William J. Metzen of Amboy was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Thursday at Children's Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where he had arrived by helicopter less than an hour earlier, Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll said.
Ingersoll and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department are investigating, and an autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning in Peoria.
Metzen was swimming at the man-made lake with friend Connor Cline, accompanied by the latter child's mother, Marcie Cline. The boys were swimming near a platform with a slide and Metzen was last seen about 2:55 p.m.
When lifeguards called for everyone to get out of the lake around 3 p.m., Cline noticed his friend was missing and contacted lifeguards. Metzen was located floating under the platform a few minutes later, and resuscitative efforts were undertaken.
Metzen was taken by ambulance to Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton before being taken by helicopter to St. Francis where he arrived about 5:10 p.m., Ingersoll said.
Metzen's mother, Lori Gould of Putnam, told authorities her son was a good swimmer.
Source: "EL" - at Find-A-Grave
DOROTHY ROSEALLA (COVERT) SHEAFFER MONK
, 85, died Feb. 20, 2002 at Good Samaritan Village in Sioux Falls, SD. Dorothy Rosella Covert was born March 29, 1916 in Dixon, IL, to Harry and Louise (Haarhues) Covert. The family moved to Harrington, NE, for several years before returning to Dixon, where Dorothy graduated from Dixon High School. She married Robert C. Sheaffer in 1935. For many years, she was an adult leader of the Palmyra Pixies 4-H Club, a member of the Lee County Extension Service, and a member of First United Methodist Church in Dixon.
In 1965, she moved to Salem, OR and was united in marriage with Cecil R. Monk, Ph.D., on March 27, 1971 at Willamette University in Salem. In 1975, she created her first
handmade quilt. Over the years, she made numerous quilts, some of which won awards, and she made quilts for herself, as well as for her children, grandchildren, great-
grandchildren, relatives, and friends. She belonged to the Capital Quilters, and was a member of First United Methodist Church in Salem. Dorothy and Cecil also traveled
extensively and spent several winters in Desert Hot Springs, CA.
Following Cecil's death in 1995, Dorothy moved to Sioux Falls, SD, and resided in Trail Ridge Retirement Community before moving to Good Samaritan Village in April of 2000.
She was a member of Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian Church and Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Chilton Chapter.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil; her parents; a sister; a brother; and a great-grandchild. Survivors include her children, Janet (Dave) Heindel of Mt. Lebanon, Pa., Dean (Jane) Sheaffer of Dixon, IL, Fred (Alyce) Sheaffer of Reston, VA, and Diane (Jack) Helin of Sioux Falls, SD; stepchildren, Larry (Linda) Monk of Oregon City, OR, Lois (Jim) Welch of Missoula, MT, and Lenore Monk of San Diego, CA; sister-in-law, Helen J. Charleston of Sun City, CA; sisters, Lois Marsh of Mira Loma, CA, and Lucille Grunst of West Linn, OR; brothers, Wilson E. Covert of Cherry Valley, CA, Willard H. Covert of Long Beach, CA, Harry Covert Jr. of San Pedro, CA, and Richard E. Covert of Garden Grove, CA; 16 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and special friends, Lorene Lovretich of Salem, OR and Lenore Matheson of Del Mar, CA.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2 at First Presbyterian Church in Sioux Falls, SD. Memorials may be made to Cecil R. Monk Memorial Scholarship, University Relations, Willamette University, 900 State St., Salem, OR 97301. Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home in Sioux Falls, SD.
Obituary contributed by "dsheindel" at Find-a-grave