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Recent Obituaries: William E. ‘Bill’ Drury

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William E. ‘Bill’ Drury, 84, of Sullivan, passed away at 7:20 p.m. Saturday, February 14, 2026 in his residence.

Celebration of Life services will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday February 17, 2026, in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan, with Pastor Bob Vail officiating. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until service time. Burial will be in the Mt. Zion General Baptist Cemetery, Sullivan, with military rites conducted by the Sullivan American Legion Post #68. Memorials are suggested to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Bill was born September 13, 1941 in Charleston, the son of Lewis ‘Ez’ and Alleen ‘Shorty’ (Best) Drury. Bill had been a carpenter and worked out of the Local # 347 Union in Champaign. He was a U. S. Air Force veteran. Bill was Past Commander of the Sullivan American Legion Post # 68. He married Donna Houston on December 14, 1996 in Sullivan.  

Surviving are his wife Donna of Sullivan; sons Rob (Lori) Jones of Tremont and Mike (Jayde) Jones of Hammond; brothers Rick (Janice) Drury of Georgia and Dave (Sue) Drury of Indiana; sisters Norma Stanberry of Arcola and Mary Harding of Charleston; thirteen grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son Mark Jones, brothers John Drury and Paul ‘Dude’ Drury and a sister Donna Dyer.

Recent Obituaries: Phyllis J. Mocabee

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Phyllis J. Mocabee, 93, of Sullivan, passed away at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, February 11, 2026 in the Sullivan Healthcare and Senior Living Center.

Celebration of Life services will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday February 15, 2026, in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan with Pastor Dave Dolan officiating. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until service time. Burial will be in the Keller Cemetery, Lovington. Memorials are suggested to the Lovington Christian Church, the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library in Sullivan or to the Sullivan Senior Center. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Phyllis was born March 19, 1932, in Lovington, the daughter of Charles F. and Celia O. Call Mocabee. She worked at the Illinois Masonic Home in Sullivan for six months before going to work as a machine operator for Borg-Warner in Decatur for thirty-six years. She then retired after ten years as a CRC 1 for the Department of Correction facility in Decatur. Phyllis was a member of the Lovington Christian Church. She was a lifelong conservative of Moultrie County and long-standing member of the Moultrie County Republican Women’s Club. She was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan.

Surviving are her son Mike McDaniel of Sullivan; grandson Brock McDaniel of Hilton Head, South Carolina and special friend Pauline Rowles of Sullivan.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters.

Mike and Brock would like to thank the staff at Sullivan Health Care and Senior Living Center for their great care.

Willoughby community benefit

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•February 11, 2026•

A Benefit Dinner, Silent Auction, a DJ, 50/50 Raffle, and a meat bundle auction will be held on March 28th at 5:00 p.m., at the Sullivan American Legion, located at 8 East Strain Street, for Avery Willoughby. Avery is currently battling metastatic carcinoma. Said Tracy of Avery, “He is the greatest person ever; he is kind, generous, and thoughtful, there isn’t anything he would not do for anyone else.”

The meal options at $10.00 per plate are BBQ Pulled Pork or spaghetti, and will be served with sides. Desserts and drinks are included. To have enough food prepared, it is requested that those attending RSVP by March 20th to Tracy Willoughby at (217) 402-2183 or email tracywilloughby57@gmail.com. Any donations are gratefully appreciated. There will also be T-shirts for sale with two different designs, sold for $20.00 each, as well as the ones sold by Agri-Fab for $25.00. To order T-shirts, contact Tracy at tracywilloughby57@gmail.com.

Women’s Auxiliary lunch

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•February 11, 2026•

On Sunday, February 22nd, the Lovington American Legion Post 429’s Women’s Auxiliary will be holding lunch from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., located at 32 W State Street in Lovington. The menu will be meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a dinner. Tea and lemonade will also be served. Everyone is welcome. The cost for the meal is a donation. For more information, go to their Facebook page.

Sullivan candidates forum 

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Photo by RR Best
L-R: Ben Guyot, City of Sullivan citizen volunteer, retired teacher; Laurrie Minor, SCED Executive Director; and Dr. Ted Walk, Moderator and Sullivan School Superintendent.

On February 4th, a candidates’ forum was held at The Little Theater on the Square in Sullivan. Residents were invited to attend to hear local officials and candidates and to receive important information about issues on the ballot of the upcoming elections.

Show Choirs begin season

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Show Choirs begin season
On Saturday, February 7th, the Sullivan Show Choirs started their competition season at the Crete-Monee Show Choir spectacular in Crete, Illinois. Sullivan Singers Jr. finished as 2nd Runner up, with Brody Frederick winning the ‘Outstanding Performer’ award. For the Sullivan Singers, Tristan Tripp won ‘Outstanding Performer’ and led the group to a 1st Runner Up finish in their division. The Sullivan Show Choirs continue their season on Saturday, February 14th, at the Naperville North ‘Clash of the Sequins’ competition in Naperville.

LLC full-time Fall semester honors list 

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•February 11, 2026•

Lake Land College recently announced that more than 700 full-time students earned academic honors for the Fall 2025 semester. To qualify for the president’s list, a student must have completed at least 12 credit hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.8 – 4.0. To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have completed at least 12 credit hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.65 – 3.79. To qualify for the honors list, a student must have completed at least 12 hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.5 – 3.64. A grade “A” is four points, a “B” is three points, a “C” is two points, etc. 

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LLC part-time Fall semester honors list

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•February 11, 2026•

Lake Land College recently announced that more than 700 part-time students earned academic honors for the Fall 2025 semester. To qualify for the president’s list, a student must have completed six to 11 credit hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.8 – 4.0. To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have completed six to 11 credit hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.65 – 3.79. To qualify for the honors list, a student must have completed six to 11 hours in courses numbered 040 or higher per semester, excluding summer term, with a GPA of 3.5 – 3.64. A grade “A” is four points, a “B” is three points, a “C” is two points, etc. 

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Creative activity on a day off from school

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Photo by DM Williamee
On February 9th, the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library held a “Make Your Own Valentine’ workshop for local youth. This free workshop required children only bring their imagination and creativity, and was enjoyed by all who attended. Pictured are Vienna Freese (9), and Madelyn Stinson (8), two of those who enjoyed making their valentines while consulting with one another throughout their creative process.