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 beloved teachers to standout former Silver Streaks athletes, from respected business owners, teachers and coaches, to a longtime newspaper editor, a school board member and attorney, and more, 2024 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 some of those individuals we have lost in the past year.
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JANUARY
William “Bill” Lawrence Reichow, Coach
Reichow led the men’s golf team to four Midwest Conference titles and coached the Fighting Scots wrestling team to new heights.
But it was on the gridiron where he achieved legendary status, turning around a struggling program and making it, for a glorious decade, one of the best small-college football teams in the nation, including a 1972 squad that went 9-0, Monmouth’s last football team to finish without a loss.
Affectionately known as “Moose” to his Monmouth players, Reichow was a 1993 inductee into the College’s M Club Hall of Fame.
FEBRUARY
Bob Harrison, Newspaper Editor
A former longtime Register-Mail newspaper editor described as a consummate newsman is being remembered for his impact on local journalism, as well as making the National Stearman Fly-In a signature event for Galesburg.
Robert F. “Bob” Harrison—who worked at The Register-Mail for 38 years, including 27 presiding over the newsroom as editor in chief—died Monday, Feb. 19, in Ankeny, Iowa. Family say the cause of death was a result of complications from RSV. He was 83.
Harrison also served as a reporter and a photographer during a Register-Mail career that touched five decades from 1963 until he retired in May 2001.
“Bob was a good journalist and a good judge of talent,” said Don Cooper, The Register-Mail publisher from 1990 to 2008. “He directed the newspaper’s coverage and recruited and helped train a generation of reporters.
“We took turns writing the newspaper’s editorials for several years. I always appreciated the insight and background that he brought to local issues.
“Bob Harrison was one of Galesburg’s ‘good guys.’ He left a legacy on the town and will be missed.”
A longtime former Galesburg educator and coach known for his passion and unique, inclusive approach to teaching is being remembered for his impact on former students, players and colleagues.
Hal Devore died at Monday, Feb. 12, at OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg. He was 86.
Devore started his career at Mt. Olive and Farmington high schools, but spent most of his 38 years in education as a history teacher at Galesburg High School during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. He also coached football at GHS and Monmouth College.
Retired GHS social studies teacher Evan Massey said Devore’s “passion and enthusiasm for teaching was unmatched.”
“He was an inspiration to not only so many students, but also to so many teachers,” Massey said. “Hal had such a deep compassion and empathy for all his students. He saw the potential in each student, even when the student may not yet have seen their own potential.
“Hal is at the top of the list of great teachers GHS has had.”
Growth, transformation, legacy: Here are some of the stories most talked about in Galesburg in 2024
MARCH
One of Galesburg’s leading advocates of trees now has one planted in his honor in Standish Park.
A small gathering of family, friends and co-workers gathered in Standish Park on blustery Friday for a tree-planting ceremony in honor of former Galesburg city arborist Gary “Pee Wee” Johnson.
Johnson, who worked in various roles for the city from 1987-2015, died March 19 at his Galesburg home after a long illness. He established the forestry division in 1996 and helped Galesburg receive several awards from the Tree City U.S.A. Awards and Tree Growth Awards.
Knox College Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages Jorge Prats, founder of the Knox in Barcelona program and Prairie Fire men’s and women’s soccer program, died on March 28, 2024.
Jorge touched the lives of countless Knox students through the years. A native of Spain, he arrived at the College in 1962, teaching Spanish as a member of the modern languages department until 2000.
His impact also reached far beyond the classroom. Jorge’s passion for soccer was palpable, and, in the mid-1960s, he founded the men’s soccer club, laying the groundwork for what would become a storied athletic tradition. When soccer gained varsity status in 1970, Jorge stepped into the role of head coach, leading the team to its first Midwest Conference championships in 1973. He was also instrumental in starting the women’s soccer club in the 1980s and pushing women’s soccer to varsity status. His coaching style, characterized by a blend of encouragement and critique, not only honed the skills of his players but also instilled in them values of fairness and ethics.
One of his most enduring legacies is the Knox in Barcelona study abroad program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.
APRIL
A former longtime Galesburg math teacher known for her delightful, witty and feisty personalty and her ability to command the classroom has died.
Helen Dunn, who taught algebra and geometry at Galesburg High School from 1951-1981, died April 23 at Seminary Manor Nursing Home in Galesburg. She had celebrated her 100th birthday on April 5.
She started her 36-year teaching career as a math teacher in Kirkwood.
Former colleagues remember Dunn has the consummate teacher.
“Helen was a delightful person and a great teacher,” said Chris Fulton, who taught in the same GHS math department with Dunn in 1975-76. “The kids loved her. She was always thinking about how she could help them. And she could command a classroom.
“She was just a really fun person. And a delight to be around.”
MAY
Doug Mills, Athlete and Banker
Douglas Culver Mills of Peoria and Jupiter, Florida, formerly of Galesburg and Champaign, died May 14 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria. He was 84.
Mills was an all-state athlete in both football and basketball for the Streaks, and was named a high school All-American in basketball his senior year. He also played baseball and ran track for the Streaks.
Mills was a second-team Parade All-American in basketball in 1958.
Mills started at the University of Illinois on a football scholarship but eventually switched his scholarship to basketball where he earned two letters for the Illini. His obituary says his favorite basketball memories were playing against Bobby Knight and the NCAA champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
He went on to be chairman Busey First National Bank located in Urbana.
Al Kimbrough, Athlete and Educator
Teammates, family and friends are remembering two of the greatest multi-sport stars in Galesburg Silver Streaks history, both of whom went on to stellar athletic careers at Big Ten Conference schools before embarking on successful professional journeys in banking and education.
Albert Kimbrough and Doug Mills, former Streaks teammates from the Galesburg Classes of 1957 and 58, respectively, died within days of each other earlier this month.
They were both inaugural inductees into the Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.
Kimbrough went on to Northwestern University where he and his twin brother Elbert starred for the Wildcats football program.
Albert Kimbrough died May 21 in Arlington Heights. He was 86.
Jimmie Carr, Class of 1959, was a sophomore when the Kimbrough twins were seniors.
“I’ll always remember the toughness of those guys,” Carr said. “They were just men, when we were all boys. They were more mature — they spoke like it, and they acted like it.”
JUNE
Richard “Dick” Duff, Business Owner
A Galesburg-area man known for assisting residents with their hardware, tool and lumber needs has died.
Richard “Dick” Duff of Henderson, who owned Duff Ace Hardware in Galesburg for many years, died June 29 at Seminary Manor, Galesburg. He was 85.
Duff and his wife Dorothy purchased Yeager’s Hardware Store before owning and operating Duff Ace Hardware, 1400 N. Henderson St. Duff Ace Hardware closed in 2004.
After retiring from the store, Duff worked at Farm King and later Lowe’s in Galesburg. He then worked for a time at Hansen Lumber Co, and last worked at Southard’s Car Wash until 2020.
Mike Kemmer, Teacher and Coach
The Knoxville community will gathered in August to celebrate the life of a longtime educator known for being an outstanding teacher in classroom and on the athletic fields.
Mike Kemmer — who spent 35 years at Knoxville High School from 1980 to 2015 teaching math, serving as principal in his final four years, and serving as Blue Bullets baseball head coach and an assistant football coach — died June 17 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 69.
Kemmer’s 1982-83 Blue Bullets baseball team went 20-2 and reached the Class A state quarterfinals.
Kemmer was inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003 and into the newly-formed Knoxville High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023. Off the athletic field, he was revered in the classroom as an elite math teacher and a mentor to students.
JULY
Rodney Blue, Athlete and Coach
It was all about the smile for the Galesburg man named Rodney Blue. It was special. Some would call it infectious. And he wasn’t afraid to show it off, on one condition — you had to smile back.
More often than not, it worked.
“Rodney was a smile and high five — it was that simple,” said his longtime friend and Carl Sandburg College work colleague Anthony Law. “And if you didn’t have a smile inside of you, Rodney had one for you.”
Law recalled an encounter when Blue would not take no for an answer.
“Anyone who knew Rodney knows he loved to give high fives,” Law said. “One day I was having a bad day, and I ran into Rodney with his hand up. I was not having a good day, and I said, ‘Not today Rodney.’
“He wouldn’t put his hand down until I gave him a high five, and I asked him what was up with the high fives. He said with that big smile, ‘it’s hard to have your head down when you’re giving a high five.’ I looked up and said, ‘I love you, and I appreciate you.’
“It was a Rodney Blue day for me.”
Rodney made a lot of days during what anyone who met him would call a life dedicated to service and giving back. Sadly, Rodney Alan Blue Sr. died July 2 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 66.
AUGUST
A popular longtime Galesburg educator known for teaching a variety of industrial arts classes over a nearly three decade career has died.
George Stephenson, who taught at Churchill Jr. High School from 1957-1985, died Aug. 4 in Galesburg. He was 93.
Stephenson began his industrial arts teaching career at Churchill Junior High School in Galesburg in 1957. Classes he taught included metalworking, woodworking, drafting and small engines.
During his 28 years of teaching, Stephenson authored three textbooks in the subjects of power technology, drafting and small gasoline engines. A total of eight textbooks (original three plus several revised editions) were published by Delmar Publishers in Albany, New York and were sold throughout the United States and Mexico over a span of 20 years while he was still teaching.
The American Industrial Arts Association named Stephenson as the outstanding teacher in Illinois for 1966-1967.
Obituary: George Edward Stephenson ~ February 23, 1931 to August 4, 2024
Pat Conklin, Teacher/Pro Life Activist
A Galesburg woman is being remembered for her decades of advocating for the Pro-Life movement and also pioneering the creation a local popular children’s preschool program.
Patricia “Pat” Conklin died Sunday, Aug. 11 in Galesburg. She was 81.
Upon arriving in Galesburg in 1997 with her husband Richard, she initially taught preschool part-time at Grace Episcopal. Subsequently, Conklin — along with Penny Bjorkman — started the Costa Preschool program, which she directed for 27 years. The school had 100, aged 3 and 4 year old students each year, making it the largest preschool in the Peoria Diocese, and allowing her to impact thousands of lives.
Obituary: Patricia M. Conklin ~ December 30, 1942 – August 11, 2024
In addition to her passion for teaching, Conklin was devoted to Pro-Life activism, beginning in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade decision. With every move her family made, she started or joined the local Pro-Life group. In the early 1980’s, she co-founded Knox County Right to Life, which remains active.
A popular and well-known physician who practiced family medicine in Galesburg for nearly 40 years has died.
Dr. Jeffrey Hill, an original doctor at Medical Arts Clinic and later Galesburg Cottage Medical Group, died Tuesday, August 20 at OSF St. Mary Medical Center. He was 82.
According to his obituary, Hill practiced family medicine in England for 10 years prior to emigrating to Galesburg, with his wife Christine and family on Jan. 1, 1980.
He was a 1967 graduate of the University of Wales, Welsh National School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Wycombe General Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England.
Dr. Hill, Dr. Robert Wagner and Dr. Robert Currie, along with the late Dr. Jackson Erffmeyer and the late Dr. Richard Bick, were providers at the original Medical Arts Clinic.
A key member of the Rogers Bros. wholesale food distributor and R&B Distributing businesses that operated for decades in Galesburg has died.
Frank Carl Rogers, Galesburg, died Saturday, Aug. 24 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 86.
He graduated from Galesburg high School and attended Western Illinois University.
According to his obituary, Frank Rogers was involved in the family business, Rogers Bros. Produce, at an early age and then R&B Distributors when it opened in 1962, He was tasked with running the new business.
Rogers was president of R&B for 45 years until his retirement in 2007.
NOVEMBER
Thomas Kurtz, Education/Technology
A Knox College alum known as visionary in computer science and mathematics has died.
Thomas Eugene Kurtz, Knox College Class of 1950, died on Nov. 12. He was 96.
Born on February 22, 1928, in Oak Park, Illinois, Kurtz’s path of intellectual achievement began at Knox College in the late 1940s. His time at Knox laid the foundation for a lifetime of contributions to education and technology.
Following his time at Knox, Kurtz pursued a PhD in mathematics at Princeton University, earning his doctorate in 1956. He had a distinguished career in academia and technology, including nearly four decades as a professor of computer science and mathematics at Dartmouth College, during which he co-developed the BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programming language in the early 1960s. This innovation democratized computing this code would benefit leagues of programmers, including Bill Gates, who used a variation of BASIC foundation for early Microsoft operating systems.
Kurtz’s life has been recognized nationally, with articles published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other publications highlighting his significant contributions to the world of technology.
DECEMBER
Bob Lindstrom, Attorney/School Board Member
A respected Galesburg attorney whose tenure on the District 205 Board of Education spanned three decades died early on Christmas Day, leaving a legacy of dedication, integrity and commitment to community.
Douglas Robert “Bob” Lindstrom died Wednesday at his Galesburg home with his family by his side after a battle with heart issues. He was 76.
Obituary: Douglas Robert “Bob” Lindstrom: February 15, 1948 ~ December 25, 2024
A 1966 Galesburg High School graduate, Lindstrom practiced law for more than 40 years at several firms in the Galesburg area, most recently as an associate attorney of Barash & Everett, LLC, in the firm’s Galesburg office.
His contributions to the community are many. In addition to his 20 years on the school board, Lindstrom was a member of Galesburg Rotary Club for nearly 50 years, served as director for the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association, and was a trustee for both the Cottage Health Care Systems and Cottage Health Care Foundation.
“I worked with many strong board members during my 20-plus years as a superintendent, and I would rank Bob right up there at the very top,” said former District 205 Superintendent of Schools Ron Cope. “I just can’t say enough good things about Bob, not only as a board member, but as a human being.”