Robert “Bob” Joseph Powell, 84, of Burlington, died Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at his home in Burlington.
Born September 30, 1940, in Burlington, he was the son of Arthur S. Jr. and Marianne Parmeter Powell. On February 28, 1971, he married Lucille Mary Margaret Schulze in Burlington, IA. She preceded him in death on January 9, 2015.
He was a U.S. Navy Veteran, serving from 1958 until 1962.
Bob worked for D&R Amusement Company, Inc. for 37 years.
He enjoyed electronic amusement, tinkering, reading, playing pool and doing puzzles. He loved spending time on the river, was known for his comedic puns and sharing his time with many friends at Joe’s Inn.
Survivors include four daughters, Ellen (Brad) Gehring of Quincy, IL, Gayle (Randy) Laucamp of Tipton, Sara Beckman (Mick Olson) of Oquawka, IL, and Mary (Michael) Gates of Burlington; daughter-in-law, Renee Fynquist; 15 grandchildren, Chad, Andy, Jared, Clay, Jacob, Hannah, Lance, Jon, Dylan, Kya, Joe, Matthew, Judy, Rosi, and Frankie; and many great-grandchildren.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Randy Powell; and son, Joel Fynquist.
The funeral service for Mr. Powell will be 4:00 PM Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street with Pastor JudyAnn Morse officiating. Burial will be in Salem Lutheran Cemetery at a later date. Full military honors will be rendered by the Burlington Area Veterans Honor Guard. A time of food and fellowship will be held at 812 Washington Street, Burlington, following the service.
A memorial has been established.
Prugh Funeral Service is in care of the arrangements.
A photo tribute can be viewed and condolences can be sent to the family by visiting Bob’s obituary at www.prughfuneral.com.
Sandra Pope, 85, passed away peacefully on December 31, 2024 in Huntley, Illinois. She was born October 1, 1939, in Burlington, Iowa, to Alfred and Edith Wilke Wasson. She graduated from Danville Iowa High School in 1957 and AIB College of Business in Des Moines, where she was a member of Alpha Iota Sorority.
Sandra had a distinguished career as an Executive Secretary and later as a realtor, earning honors such as the RE/MAX Hall of Fame award. She was a dedicated volunteer for organizations including the
American Cancer Society, the
American Heart Association, Sparrow’s Nest, and the McHenry County Food Bank.
Sandra cherished time with family and friends, enjoyed reading, playing the piano, scrapbooking, and cheering on Chicago sports teams.
She is survived by her children, Jeffery Pope, Lori (Wolfgang) Stange, Kelli (Philip) Claps, and Ryan (Jennifer) Pope; grandchildren, Gunter Stange, Deiter Stange, Allie Brazelton, Addison Claps, and Lydia Pope; her sister, Carolyn (Dick) Horn; nephews, Rick (Esther) Horn and David (Kristy) Horn; and many cousins.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 9, 2025 from 4 until the time of service at 7pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 E Terra Cotta Ave, Crystal Lake, Illinois. On Saturday, January 11, procession will leave at 9:30 am from Elliott Chapel, New London, for a graveside service at 10 am at Jaggar Cemetery, rural Danville. Pastor Jacob Yocum will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the
American Cancer Society, the
American Heart Association, or The Senior Care Volunteer Network in Crystal Lake.
Sandra will be remembered for her kindness, generosity, and love for those around her. Please visit
www.davenportfamily.com or
www.elliottfuneralchapel.com to leave a fond memory of her on her tribute page.
Thomas Joseph “Riff” Riffel, 68, of Burlington, died Friday, January 3, 2025, at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.
Born March 1, 1956, in Burlington, he was the son of Clarence William and Norma Adelaide Blakey Riffel. On December 30, 1989, he married Judy Kay Witte at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Burlington.
He was a 1974 graduate of Notre Dame High School.
Tom worked as an electrician and conductor for BNSF for 360 months and was awarded the 30 Years Safety Award.
He was a member of Divine Mercy Parish and was a bread runner for St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. Thomas was also a member of the Eagles Aeries 150 and a Flint Hills 9-hole league. He enjoyed the outdoors and could be found walking, hiking, kayaking, biking, playing tennis or golf. He was an avid Iowa Hawkeye fan, especially football and basketball. Tom would also complete the daily crossword puzzle and would solve the Wheel of Fortune Puzzles before everyone. He always looked forward to his weekly Nana and Papa days with his grandsons.
Survivors include his wife, Judy Riffel; two children, Blake Riffel and Mallory (Anthony) Kienast; three grandsons, Christian, Noah and Thomas Kienast; one brother, Paul Riffel; and one sister, Beth Brocchini.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The Rosary will be recited at 4:00 PM Friday, January 10, 2025 at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street. Following the rosary, there will be a 4:30 PM Vigil Service, with time of sharing. The family will receive friends following the Vigil Service until 7:00 PM.
The Funeral Mass of the Resurrection for Tom will be 10:00 AM, Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Divine Mercy Parish-SS. Mary and Patrick Catholic Church, West Burlington with Fr. Jake Greiner as the Celebrant. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Dodgeville. A time of food and fellowship will be held at the Burlington Eagle’s #150 following the burial.
Memorials have been established for St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, PAWS Animal Shelter and for his grandson’s education.
Prugh Funeral Service is in care of the arrangements.
A photo tribute can be viewed and condolences can be sent to the family by visiting Tom’s obituary at www.prughfuneral.com.
“Marilyn Ruth Beimer, 91, of Burlington, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, December 25, 2024, at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House in West Burlington, Iowa.
She was born March 5, 1933, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Joseph A. and Dorothy M. (Stolwyk) Peterschmidt. On February 13, 1954, she married Leon J. Beimer in Fort Madison, Iowa. They later divorced.
Marilyn attended Catholic Central High School in Fort Madison, Iowa, graduating in 1951. During high school she worked at Bishop’s Cafeteria in Fort Madison. Throughout the early years of her marriage and until the birth of her first daughter, she assisted in the IBM department at the Sheaffer Pen Company in Fort Madison.
Marilyn was a homemaker until the 1970’s. Then she entered the workforce serving over 25 years as an administrative insurance assistant to Metropolitan Life, State Farm, and Allstate agents in Burlington. She was proud to be licensed and serve in the industry. In addition, she worked for several years as a coordinator for the Area Agency On Aging in Burlington, assisting in the development of programs and services.
After retirement, Marilyn assisted for over 10 years at Young House Family Services – initially as a part-time employee through a senior training program – then later as a volunteer. She was proud to be recognized in 2017 as Volunteer of the Year.
Marilyn enjoyed roller skating in her youth and as an adult, but she loved to walk – especially in Crapo Park. She often hiked five miles a day until age 90. She participated in many annual Susan G. Komen Walks in Dallas, Texas, and Bridge Walks in Burlington. She enjoyed music, beginning piano lessons at age 60. She sewed her entire life, proudly creating matching dresses for her four daughters each holiday and Barbie clothes from the scraps. Marilyn also discovered quilting, mastering many patterns and techniques. A morning crossword puzzle and pages read in an evening book “kept her mind sharp.”
Survivors include three daughters: Susan (Ron) Beer and Annette (John) Bybee, all of Burlington; and Carol (Joseph) Remick of Hillsboro, Iowa; six grandchildren: Jennifer (Dustin) Becker; Stacy (Brad) Brown; Spenser (Amber) Remick, Morgan (Benjamin) Fry, Carson (Hope) Remick, Isaac Eigner-Bybee; and fourteen great-grandchildren. Also surviving are two brothers: John (Maryrose) Peterschmidt of Muscatine, Iowa; Daniel (Linda) Peterschmidt of Brandon, Florida; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Linda Reed; two sisters, Rose Marie Peterschmidt and Joann Wolfe; and brother Ted Peterschmidt.
Cremation has been entrusted to the care of Prugh Crematory.
The family will receive friends from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM, Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street, Burlington, Iowa.
The memorial service for Marilyn will be 1:00 PM, Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Prugh Funeral Service, 3940 Division Street, Burlington, Iowa, with Pastor Dean Graber Officiating.
Memorials have been established for The Burlington Public Library and Friends of Burlington Parks and Recreation Endowment Fund.”
Sylvia Sue Dues, 90, of Dallas City, Illinois, passed away at 10:48 a.m. Thursday, December 26, 2024 at the OakView Nursing & Rehabilitation in Burlington, Iowa.
Sue was born December 3, 1934 in Carthage, Illinois, the daughter of Robert and Roeene (Butler) Carothers. In 1954 she married Joe Fitzgerald. He preceded her in death in 1967. On February 15, 1969, she married George Dues. He preceded her in death July 2, 2016.
Sue was raised in Dallas City and was a graduate of Dallas City High School. Following high school, she attend Cottey College in Missouri. After college, she returned to Dallas City, until her marriage to Joe. They lived various locations, including locally and spent time living in Indiana and Kentucky. Following his untimely passing, she returned to Dallas City, where she would live until her retirement. She worked as a secretary most of her life for the Dallas City School and Vorhees Insurance in Dallas City. Following her retirement, she and George lived in Burlington, where she worked part-time for Hyvee. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dallas City.
Survivors include four children: Kevin (Penny Thomas) Fitzgerald of Palm Harbor, Florida, Kelly (Ben) Kozlowski of Davenport, Iowa, Bobby (Stacey) Fitzgerald of Fort Madison, Iowa and Marybeth (Mike) Johnson of Palm Harbor, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Besides her husbands, she was preceded in death by two sisters: Barbara Prescott and Kay Sly.
Cremation has been entrusted to Banks & Beals Funeral Home.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 18, 2025 at The Pink Tavern in Lomax, Illinois.
A private family graveside service will be at Harris Cemetery, near Dallas City.
A memorial fund has been established for Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice. To leave an online condolence for the family, please visit Sue’s obituary at banksandbeals.com.
