Ken Folks is missed by me, his coworker, and all the lives he touched in his classroom at Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries. He was the kind of guy that you only had to meet once, and from then on y...

Spending a lifetime as a devoted wife, mother and grandmother is a small snapshot into why my mom is special to me. We shared a special bond. I would start thinking of her and the phone would ring and...

Carl Volkmann died Oct. 11 after a 15-year struggle with cancer. In October 2012, he received an Alumni Award from his alma mater, Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Here is an excerpt from the citati...

“I’m a better person because my life touched Ning’s,” said Elizabeth Kloppenburg of her dear friend, Elsiejane “Ning” Staley O’Keefe, who died Aug. 4.It is a sentiment echoed by many in ...

Andy Stone spent his life working and living on and for the family farm, but he was not your stereotypical tractor-driving, cap-wearing farmer. Not content to rest on the well-established laurels of t...

Henry Krug III was unique in many ways, but the most remarkable thing about him was the number of lives he touched while living, by his own choice, the simplest life he could. Born to a modest family,...

“isn’t easy being a man / all those lines we paint / to the endless amusement / of those who live between them” – from Mark’s poem “Lines”Mark visited Illinois the year the Mississippi f...

Remember when the Nazis tried to take over the world? Mr. Shea was one of many who answered the call to prevent that from becoming a reality, as part of the D-day invasion. Remember when you needed ga...