Obituaries for Friday February 7th

Joseph M. “Little Joe” Smith, 71, of Dallas City, Illinois passed away Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at the Great River Hospice House, West Burlington.

Joe was born on December 28, 1948 in Monmouth, Illinois, to Harvey and Barbara Hoskins. He was adopted and raised by Raymond and Elizabeth Smith. On September 5, 1981 he married Janice Myers in Las Vegas, Nevada. They later divorced.

Mr. Smith was a 1967 graduate of the Dallas City High School. Joe served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his service. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and his friends and family. Joe loved to cook.

Survivors include his former wife, Janice of Dallas City; four children: Selina (Vernon) Tucker of Ft. Madison, Iowa, Stacey Pence of LaHarpe, Jason Smith of Dallas City and Ryan (Samantha) Smith of Dallas City; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three brothers: Chris (Billie) Smith of Stronghurst, Illinois, Danny (Lee) Smith of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Rick Tate; three sisters: Jackie (Larry) Ferguson of Blandinsville, Ramona (David) Desotel of Danville, Iowa and Rhonda Ewing of Ft. Madison.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Steve Hoskins.

A celebration of Joe’s life will be held from 3:00 until 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at Banks & Beals Funeral Home in Dallas City. Military Rites will be conducted at 6:00 p.m. at Banks & Beals.

A memorial fund has been established in his memory. To leave a condolence please visit Joe’s obituary at banksandbeals.com.

Connie Lou Thornton, 64, of Mediapolis, died at 3:11 AM Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at the Great River Medical Center in West Burlington.

Born October 11, 1955, in Missouri, she was the daughter of Harley and Myrtle Jones Dykes.

Connie was a homemaker.

Connie was an animal lover and enjoyed spending time with her dog.

Survivors include her common law husband, Randy Mayer of Mediapolis; two sons, Jeremy Thornton of Burlington, and Gayle (April) Palmer of Burlington; three brothers, Danny Petty, Randy (Aleshia) Dykes, and Todd (Kathy) Dykes all of Burlington; three nephews: Jason, Dustin, and Donnie; and many great-nephews and nieces.

She is preceded in death by her parents, one brother, Ronald Petty and one niece.

Cremation has been entrusted to the care of Prugh Crematory.

Inurnment will be held in Burlington Memorial Park Cemetery at a later date.

Prugh~Thielen Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements.

Condolences can be sent to the family by visiting Connie’s obituary at www.prughthielencares.com.

Lisa M. Teel, 55, of Blandinsville, Illinois passed away Saturday, February 1, 2020 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois.

She was born December 31, 1964 in LaHarpe, the daughter of Richard “Pop” and Alice Akers Sheffler. On October 7, 1989 she married Duane Teel in LaHarpe, Illinois. He preceded her in death on September 26, 2019.

Lisa was a 1983 graduate of LaHarpe High School and later graduated from Carl Sandburg College as an LPN. She worked at LaHarpe-Davier Health Care Center and Heartland Health Care Center in Macomb, Illinois. She enjoyed crafts and her pet dogs and cat. She especially enjoyed spending time with her boys and her grandchildren. Family was very important to her.

She is survived by two sons, Christopher (Shanee) Teel of Blandinsville and Steven Teel of Blandinsville; two grandchildren, Marlee and Rylee Teel, two sisters, Sheryl (Bob) Klein of Blandinsville and Darlene (Jeff) Beck of Abingdon, Illinois; two brothers, Jeff (Joanna) Sheffler of Peoria, Illinois and Allen (Cynthia) Sheffler of Blandinsville and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband; parents and one granddaughter, Alexis Teel.

Graveside services will be held at 10:00am Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the Terre Haute, Illinois Cemetery with Pastor Larry Mulch officiating. The family will meet with friends from 5:00 until 7:00pm Friday, Feb. 7th at Banks & Beals Funeral Home in LaHarpe. A memorial fund has been established to help with expenses. Contributions may be mailed to her son, Christopher Teel, PO Box 184, Blandinsville, Illinois 61420.