Josephine Johnson, 63, Macomb, died Friday, Dec. 27 in McDonough District Hospital. She was born Sept. 22, 1933 in Galesburg to Harold and Mary Myers Stevens. She married Clarence Johnson Dec. 26, 1954 in Knoxville. He preceded her in death in 1966.
She is survived by her son, Christopher (Cheri), Valparaiso, IN and two grandsons.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brother and sister.
Johnson was a faculty member at WIU and at her retirement in 1990 she was Vice President for Advancement and Public Services.
WIU President Donald S. Spencer said that Johnson "was one of the great citizens of WIU. She helped define what Western is all about."
Johnson was a graduate of Knoxville High School, received her B.S. from WIU, her M.S. from WIU and her Ed.D. from the University of Wyoming in 1972. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Bushnell. She was a member of numerous Greek organizations and the Bushnell Business and Professional Women's Club.
Johnson taught in Del Rio, TX in 1955, then Bushnell-Prairie City schools from 1955-70. She was a counselor at Carl Sandburg College and joined the WIU staff in 1972. At WIU she was professor, Department of Counselor Education and College Student Personnel; Director, University Advising Center; Executive Assistant to the President for Enrollment Management; Vice President for Advancement and Public Services; and Adjunct Professor, Counselor Education and College Student Personnel.
Johnson received numerous honors for her service at WIU, and was most recently given an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters during the WIU Fall Commencement.
Funeral services were held Dec. 30 at the First Presbyterian Church in Macomb. Internment was completed at the Knoxville Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Josephine and Clarence William Johnson Scholarship Fund, WIU Foundation.
Robert Neas, 61, Macomb, died Wednesday, Dec. 25 at his home.
Dr. Neas was born May 7, 1935 in Vernon County, MO to Carmi and Mary (Miller) Neas. He married Sandra Brauss in Fayette, MO on June 2, 1957. She survives.
He is also survived by his parents; two daughters, Renee Kovac of Naperville and Aimee Chamernik of Waukegan, two sons, Brent of Tempe, AZ and Craig of Kirksville, MO; two grandchildren; one sister and one brother.
Neas received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri at Columbia, MO. He had been a professor of chemistry at WIU for 27 years. He was a sponsor of the WIU Chemistry Club. He was a local baseball coach and was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church.
Services were held Sunday, Dec. 29 at Wesley United Methodist Church. Burial was completed at Oakwood Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation, 2411 New Street, Blue Island, 60406-2366 or to the Wesley United Methodist Church.
Russell Phelps, 68, of Holiday, FL, formerly of Macomb, died Jan. 8 at his home.
Phelps retired as a grounds crew worker at WIU in 1984.
Phelps was born Jan. 5, 1929 in Hancock County. He married Mary Logan on July 1, 1949. She survives.
Also surviving are two sons, Donald of Sugar Grove and Vernon of Holiday; three sisters, Leota Fitzgerald and Irene Lantz, both of Colchester, and Dolores Norris of Fandon; four grandchildren and one great- grandchild.
Services were held in Macomb and burial was completed at Oakwood Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Hernando-Pasco Hospice Inc., 12107 Majestic Blvd., Hudson, FL 34667.
John Sekora, Durham, NC, former WIU professor of English and journalism, died Sunday, Feb. 2 of a heart attack while in Philadelphia.
Sekora was born November 18, 1939 in Madison to George and Stella (Drda) Sekora.
Sekora was a faculty member at WIU from 1970-82. He was chair of the department of English and journalism from 1978-82.
Sekora received his B.A. from Bradley University and a Ph.D from Princeton University. In 1982 he was appointed to a fellowship at the National Humanities Center at Research Triangle Park, NC. In 1983 he accepted a position with North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC as professor of English.
Sekora wrote numerous books and articles with concentrations in Afro-American education and race relations and 18th-Century British literature.
Sekora is survived by a son, Jay, of Brighton, MA and a daughter, Bevin, Macomb.
Memorial services are pending in Durham.
Paul Nolan, Macomb, retired WIU building service janitorial supervisor, died Feb. 4 at McDonough District Hospital in Macomb.
Nolan was born Feb. 26, 1926 in White Hall to Jasper and Iva (Short) Nolan. He married Marilyn Gamage in 1987; she survives. He is also survived by two sons, Gene of Virginia Beach, VA, and Kevin, of Jacksonville; two daughters, Carol Lester of Colchester and Beverly Kaskadden of Lake Saint Louis, MO; two stepsons, Scott Wisslead of Macomb and Jim Heaton of Hamilton; one stepdaughter, Connie Foulk of Macomb; two brothers, Howard of Riverside, CA and Bob of Mesa, AZ; two sisters, Goldie Rienbolt of Jacksonville and Mary Vincent of Noblesville, IN; and, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Nolan was a WWII veteran and had worked at WIU for 27 years until his retirement in August.
Funeral services were held Friday, Feb. 6 at Dodsworth-Piper-Wallen Funeral Home, Macomb.
Nancy C. Morey, 56, of 51 Flag Road, died June 3 at her home. Born April 17, 1941 in Dubuque, IA to Robert and Kathleen Sours Creswick, she married Robert V. Morey in 1962 in Iowa City. He survives.
Also surviving are one brother, Robert Creswick of Indialantic, FL, a niece and a nephew. Her parents preceded her in death. A Macomb resident since 1971, she was a professor in the management department.
She received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Utah in 1975 and a Ph.D. in management from the University of Nebraska in 1986. Memorials may be made to the McDonough County Humane Society, or the McDonough County Environmentally Concerned Citizens.
