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Deaths
INSIDE ILLINOIS, JUNE 18, 2009
Leona R. Benner, 85, died June 7 at the Arthur Home, Arthur. She worked at the UI for 25 years, retiring in 1991 as a linen maid for Housing. Memorials: Alzheimer’s Association or the Arthur Home.
Helen I. Knights, 94, died June 10 at Canterbury Ridge in Urbana. Knights worked at the UI for 33 years, retiring in 1977 as an administrative secretary in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
William McElwain, 90, died May 30 at the Illinois Knights Templar Home, Paxton. He worked at the UI for nine years, retiring in 1975 as a storekeeper II with the Coordinated Science Lab. Memorials: Prairie Village in Rantoul or the Illinois Knights Templar in Paxton.
JoAnne Padgett, 81, died Feb. 4 at her home in Tucson, Ariz. Padgett worked at the UI for 11 years, retiring in 1985 as a library clerk II with the library.
G. Roland Peirce, 94, died May 20 in Folsom, Calif. Peirce, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering, retired from the UI in 1973 after 35 years of service.
Barbara A. Stacy, 70, died June 5 at her daughter’s home in Sadorus. Stacy was a typing clerk III at the McKinley Health Center, retiring in 1997 after 17 years at the university. Memorials: Shriners Hospital or Carle Hospice.
Clifford J. Sudkamp, 91, died June 11 at Lakeland Nursing Center, Effingham. He worked at the UI for 31 years, retiring in 1976 as a steam distribution operator with the Physical Plant. Memorials: St. Thomas School in Philo.
Martin Wagner, 97, died June 15 at his Urbana home. Wagner was former director and professor emeritus in the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations. Wagner came to the UI in 1958 as director of ILIR (now the School of Labor and Employment Relations), serving in that position until 1968. He continued to teach at the institute until his retirement in 1982. A commemorative event at the School of Labor and Employment Relations and a memorial service are planned for the weekend of Sept. 11. Memorials: Parkland College Foundation Gloria Valenti Scholarship or the UI Foundation’s Dr. Allan E. Crandell Award. Both awards will be used to support students who demonstrate extraordinary potential to provide compassionate health care.
Alice Wallner, 83, died June 10 at the Carle Arbours, Savoy. She worked as a secretary for the Illinois State Water Survey. Memorials: St. John Lutheran Church of Champaign or Provena Covenant Hospice.
Memorial services
A memorial service for Robert Eugene Hagen will begin at 7 p.m. June 18 at Lux Memorial Chapel, 1551 E. Grove St., Rantoul. Friends and family may gather an hour before the service. Hagen, 74, died June 9 at Country Health Nursing Home, Gifford. He worked for the university in several positions, including a storekeeper with Purchasing and a groundskeeper and construction laborer with the Physical Plant.
