Tazewell County

Obituaries

Eloise Baer

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Pekin—Eloise J. Baer, 91, of 2400 N. Eighth St., died at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004, at Pekin Hospital in Pekin.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Judy Doyle will officiate. Burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery.

Noel-Henderson Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Friends may call one hour before services at the church.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 1315 Court St., Pekin, IL 61554.

She was born June 12, 1912, in Pekin to John M. and Phoebe Stoker Hill. She married William L. Baer on July 4, 1931, in Pekin. He preceded her in death on July 26, 1977.

Four brothers and one sister also preceded her in death.

Baer had worked at Thrifty Drug Store, Central Book & Toy Store, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Super X Drugs, all in Pekin.
She was a member and past president of the Pekin YWCA. She also was a member of the Friends of the Pekin Library, the Dirksen Guild, the Pekin Hospital Auxiliary and the Pekin Woman’s Club.

She was a member of First United Methodist Church, and its Deborah Guild.
 

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Donated by Carole Hill Martin

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From an unidentified newspaper clipping dated July 26, 1977

W. L. Baer Dies; Rites Thursday

Funeral service for William L. (Cubby) Baer, 71, of 1516 Tennell road, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday in First United Methodist Church.

Officiating will be Rev. Dale Catlin and Rev. John McCord, pastor and associate pastor of the church, and Father Charles Beebe.  Burial will be in Lakeside cemetery.

Friends may call at the Noel-Henderson Funeral Home from 6 until 9 p.m. Wednesday, and at the church from 11 a.m. Thursday until the time of service.

Memorial contributions may be made to the organ fund of First United Methodist Church of Pekin, of which he was a member.

Mr. Baer died at 2:30 a.m. today, July 26, 1977, in Methodist Medical Center, where he had been a patient since last Saturday.

Born at Haviland, Kan., Mar. 23, 1906, he was a son of William L. and Iola M. Harmon Baer. His marriage to Eloise J. Hill occurred at Pekin July 4, 1931.

Mr. Baer, who came to Pekin in 1930 as organist for the Pekin Theatre, was associated with the Fluegel ad Publix Great States Theatres for 22 years. He retired from Ashland Chemical Company in 1971.

A highly talented musician, Mr. Baer was church organist at First United Methodist Church for 10 years and also taught organ for a decade.

Surviving are his wife and one sister, Mrs. Julia O. Minor of Deerfield, Kan.

One brother and three sisters, including Mrs. Allatha R. Hodges of Greensburg, Kan., who died Monday, July 11, preceded him in death.

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Donated by Carole Hill Martin

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Jim Bluejacket, Prominent Pekin Sportsman, Dies

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Jim Bluejacket, 59-year-old Pekin resident who was well known in the world of sports, died at the Pekin hospital at 4 a. m. today, following an illness of several months.

Born in Adair, Okla., on July 8, 1887, Jim was  son of William and Lucy Daurthy Bluejacket.  His marriage to Jennie Piro took place Dec. 23, 1912, in Carthage, Mo.

Jim came to Pekin about the time the Illinois-Missouri league was started and was a pitcher with the Pekin team for a number of years.  At that time the ball park was located at what is now known as the Soldwedel field at he end of N. Capitol street.

Next in Jim's list of baseball affiliations was the Three-I league, in which he played with Bloomington.  Gaining renown as a ball player, Jim was bought by the New York Giants, and before the season began jumped to the Brooklyn Federals.  He later went to Milwaukee and then joined the Midwest league.

However, Jim wasn't a baseball player all his life, for about 18 years ago he went to the Dutch West Indies with the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey as a welder foreman and helped to build the largest oil refinery in the world.  He stayed with the New Jersey company until his retirement three years ago.

Jim and his wife went to Greybull, Wyo., to retire but returned to Pekin last summer when he became ill.  They resided at 910 Caroline street.

Jim is survived by his wife; two sons, Fred, who is with a construction firm in Arabia, and Jimmy, Santa Monica, Cal.; two granddaughters and one brother, Louis, Adair, Okla.  Two sisters and one brother are deceased.

The body was removed to Abts mortuary, where friends may call Thursday.  Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

BLUEJACKET

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Funeral services for Jim Bluejacket, prominent Pekin sportsman who died Wednesday morning, were held at 8:30 a.m. today at Abts mortuary and at 9 at St. Joseph's church.  The Rev. B. J. Sheedy officiated and burial was in St. Joseph's cemetery.

Pallbearers were Harold Hill, August Meskimen, Tony, Jack and Leo Piro and Joe Almone Sr.

Donated by Carole Hill Martin

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Jennie Bluejacket

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Graveside services for Jennie Piro Bluejacket, 91, formerly of Pekin, will be held a 2 p.m. Wednesday in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

A member of St. Joseph's pastoral team will officiate.

There will be no visitation.

The Abts Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Greybull, Wyo.

Mrs. Bluejacket died at 4:30 a.m. Friday, May 15, 1987, in the Wyoming Retirement Center, Basin.

Born June 24, 1895, in St. Joseph, Mo., she was the daughter of Giacomo and Cosima Sansoni Piro.  She married James Bluejacket Dec. 23, 1912, in Carghage, Mo.  He died in 1947. 

Surviving are one sister, Lorraine "Lottie" Meskimen of Pekin; one brother, Tony "Roney" Piro of Pekin; two grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Two children preceded her in death.

Mrs. Bluejacket was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the B.P.O. Doe No. 30 at Greybull, Wyo.

Donated by Carole Hill Martin

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