As we prepare to usher in a new year, we take time to pause for a moment to remember those who are no longer with us.
From business icons to popular coaches and teachers, to a radio personality, a star football player and civic leaders and more, 2023 marked the passing of many notable individuals who left their marks on the Galesburg-area. As we near the end of the year, we once again take the time to look back at those individuals we have lost in the past year.
(Click the link in the name to read the full story)
JANUARY
Robb Strack, Radio Broadcaster
Robb Strack — the big, boisterous and passionate radio voice of Galesburg sports for nearly 30 years — died Jan. 16, 2023.
Strack called Galesburg Silver Streaks, Knox College and Carl Sandburg sporting events in addition to being a morning show host for both WGIL and WAIK radio stations.
A member of the Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame, Strack had battled Mantle Cell Lymphoma for nine years. He lived with his son’s family in North Barrington since 2021 and died while in hospice care in Barrington. He was 85.
Robb arrived in Galesburg in 1976 and called Silver Streaks basketball and football for WGIL Radio for 13 years. He later called sports for WAIK Radio for another 18 years. After leaving WAIK in 2008, Strack covered sports as a part-time stringer for The Register-Mail until 2019.
MARCH
Pat Hennenfent, Civic/Agriculter Leader
A Wataga man referred to as a “selfless servant” with “a heart of gold” is remembered for a lifetime of contributions to many Knox County organizations and communities.
Patrick E. “Pat” Hennenfent died March 9 while vacationing in Negril, Jamaica. He was 65.
Involved in agriculture since he was a child, Hennenfent was an active and key resource for numerous farmers and farming organizations, including Knox County Farm Bureau, Knox County Pork Producers, Knox County Corn Growers and Knox County Young Farmers. He also was a key figure in the Altona-Oneida-Wataga Service, the Oneida/Wataga and Henderson fire departments and Knox County Snowmobile Search and Rescue.
APRIL
A legendary name and voice in Galesburg car sales for nearly a half century died in April.
Gene Stull, who worked at Lakis Ford, Yemm Ford and most recently Yemm Chevrolet/Chrysler for a combined 50 years, died April 1, 2023, after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 77.
Born in Monmouth, Stull started his automotive career as a salesman at Louis Lakis Ford in the late 1960s. He later worked his way into management.
While still undergoing cancer treatment, Stull began the final chapter of his car salesman career at Yemm Chevrolet and Chrysler in May of 2022.
“Gene has been part of the Yemm family for some time, and he’s made a definite lasting imprint on all of us,” said Sara Yemm, general manager of Yemm Auto Group. “He lived so fully everyday. He always had a smile, a positive mindset and encouraging words for everyone he worked with.
“We’re just doing our best to shift our sadness and our heartbreak to gratitude of the gift of Gene. We hope to carry on his passion for cars and his customers.”
Richard Kowalski, OSF St. Mary Administrator
One of Galesburg’s most influential and respected figures in both the health care and economic development fields for nearly half a century died in April.
Richard S. “Dick” Kowalski, 79, CEO of OSF St. Mary Medical Center for almost 35 years, died April 10, 2023, at Richard L. Owens Hospice Home in Peoria. He was 79.
Kowalski took over as president and CEO of OSF St. Mary Medical Center in 1979. His responsibilities were expanded in 2009 to include the position of CEO of the Western Region. He held the positions until he retired in 2013, but remained an advisor to OSF officials until his death.
Dr. Mark Meeker of Galesburg, vice president of Community Medicine Service Line for OSF Health Care, said “Dick was one of the most influential people in health care in Galesburg over the past 40 years.
“I think what’s unique about Dick is he came to Galesburg, planted his roots and he never left. You don’t see hospital administrators have a career that long at any one institution very often. To have that kind of longevity just shows the kind of relationships and trust that he built with people.”
MAY
Gene Rude, Alderman/State Police
A Galesburg man who witnessed and participated in some of the most iconic moments in American history has died.
Paul E. “Gene” Rude Jr., 84, a longtime Illinois State trooper and a two-term alderman on the Galesburg City Council, died May 1 at Hawthorne Inn, Galesburg. He was 84.
While serving in the Air Force, Rude was assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; then to Morocco; later to Mitchel Field, Long Island, and finally to Anacostia Naval Station, Washington, DC, with the Armed Forces Police. He served at the funeral of President John Kennedy, during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” and as part of the funeral escort for Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
JUNE
A man who lived a life of music died in July.
Charles Putnam Knapp, director of bands and orchestras at Knoxville District 202 schools for 31 years and later owner of a band instrument business with his wife passed away June 27, 2023. He was 89.
Knapp’s passion for music touched thousands of people in central Illinois. In addition to his teaching role, Charlie was a violist with the Knox-Galesburg Symphony for 50 years, a member of the Monmouth Civic Orchestra for 17 years, and a violinist with Hal Loya String Quartet for 30 years. He also played drums in a dance band, the Charles Knapp Quartet.
JULY
A generation of local bands and nightclub goers remember Bill Fry as the man who brought the music to Monmouth.
William L.R. (Bill) Fry of Monmouth, who owned and operated the popular Center Stage music night club in the 1980s and 90s, died July 5, 2023, at OSF Holy Family Medical Center, Monmouth. He was 70.
Fry’s impact on local music was profound. He managed multiple music groups through his Tour Coordinations Company. He also built a recording studio, The Music Factory, where he recorded many talented musicians.
But for many, it was Center Stage that put Fry on the music map. Local musician and Galesburg Radio on-air personality Chris Postin describes Center Stage as the region’s Studio 54.
AUGUST
Kevin Vest, Coach/Athletic Director
A former Galesburg baseball player and later successful college coach and athletic director is remembered for his lasting impact on many teammates, former players and colleagues.
Kevin Vest, athletic director at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, died Monday, Aug. 7 at his Tyler home surrounded by his wife and daughter. He was 47.
A 1994 graduate of Galesburg High School where he was a catcher for the Silver Streaks and Post 285 baseball teams, Vest went on to a successful baseball career at Illinois College. He spent many years coaching baseball and had been the athletic director at Tyler Junior College since July 2019.
OCTOBER
Ron McGraw, Coach/IHSA Administrator
An Oneida native who dedicated his life to enriching young people, first as a high school teacher, coach, and administrator at Sherrard, Monmouth and Knoxville before spending 12 years as an administrator for the Illinois High School Association, passed away in October.
Ron McGraw, a 1975 ROVA graduate, died Oct. 13, 2023, in Bloomington following a courageous battle with cancer. He was 66.
McGraw began his career in education as a teacher and coach at Sherrard High School, where he coached golf, football, and wrestling during a seven-year tenure. He then moved on to become the athletic director and dean of students at Monmouth High School. Three years later he was hired as the principal at Knoxville High School, a title he held for a decade before joining the IHSA.
Ramondo Randle, Football Star/Coach
Former teammates, friends and coaches remembering former Galesburg High School football star Ramondo Randle as one of the top running backs in Silver Streaks history.
Ramondo “Doe” Randle, a three-year varsity football player for the Streaks in the early 1990s and a 1,000-yard rusher his senior season of 1993, died unexpectedly Oct. 28, 2023, at his Burlington, Iowa, home. He was 48.
Former Streaks coach Bill Allison said, “We had quite a run of running backs, and Ramondo was apart of it. He was as good as just about anyone we’ve had at that position.”
NOVEMBER
Bob Morgan, Churchill Jr. High Teacher/Basketball Coach
Some called him Mr. Bob. Others referred to him Coach Bob. His wife called him Bobby. Most everyone would agree he was larger than life.
Bob Morgan, the longtime Churchill Junior High School basketball coach known as a supreme instructor of fundamentals and for an ever-burning passion for the game, is remembered for his impact on thousands of former students and players.
Robert L. Morgan died Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at a senior living center in Carmel, Indiana, after a two-year battle with dementia. He was 86.
Morgan started teaching and coaching at Churchill in 1962 and spent the better part of the next three decades molding basketball players and turning boys into men. And don’t underestimate the impact he had on his female students, who were just as fond of Coach Bob.
“He was a character, and as a lot of guys have said, he was iconic,” said Barry Swanson, a member of Morgan’s first team at Churchill in 1962-63 who went on to be a star player on the 1966 state runner-up Silver Streaks and later longtime successful head coach at Galesburg High School.
