Greg A. Dirks, 65, of Sullivan, passed away 2:57 a.m. Monday, June 22, 2026 in his home.

Celebration of Life services will be 12:00 Noon Friday, June 26, 2026 at the Sullivan Faith Lutheran Church with Pastor Justin Cullen officiating. Burial will be in the Zoar Cemetery, rural Mattoon. Visitation will be Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon at the church. Memorials are suggested to the Sullivan Faith Lutheran Church for youth activities. Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Greg was born May 29, 1961 at Lincoln, Illinois, the son of Ronald and Dorothy Baker Dirks. He retired after 40 years as a journeyman toolmaker for Precision Tool & Die Company in Decatur.

Greg was a member of the Sullivan Faith Lutheran Church and Sons of the Sullivan American Legion. Greg enjoyed playing golf, grilling out for family and friends, camping at Timberlake Campground and was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan. Greg married Janet E. Elder on April 25, 1980 at Windsor.

Survivors include his wife Janet; daughters Chelsey (Mark Palahniuk) Dirks of Sullivan and Samantha (Eric) Dippel of Buckley, Illinois; granddaughters Gabriella Dippel and Kinsley Dippel to be born in October; mother Dorothy Dirks of Sullivan; sisters Diana Renfrow of Lovington and Debbie (Cary) Suhl of Sullivan; brother Kevin (Michelle) Dirks of Hampton, Georgia and a sister-in-law Jeannine Blythe of Atlanta.

He was preceded in death by his father Ronald, grandson Keaton, father and mother-in-law James and Shirley Elder and brother-in-law Kevin Blythe.

June Foreman, former resident of Sullivan, passed away June 20, 2026 at a care center in Luverne, Alabama. She was 96 years old. Born Francis June Bell in the cold pre-dawn of Christmas at the start of the Great Depression in 1929, she grew up on a red dirt road where water came from a well, and light from oil lamps. Her father, Johnny, ran a small farm and worked timber while her mother, Beatrice, wrangled chickens and made biscuits in a cast iron pan. As the  middle child, June worked the mule-plowed fields, picked cotton, and tended livestock as readily as her older brother James and younger brother Jerry.

She graduated from Dozier, Alabama High and went on to business school in Montgomery. There, on a blind date, she met a young military man from Chicago. After some courtship, Dale Foreman asked her to marry him as he boarded a bus back to the base. After that, they were rarely apart unless the Air Force demanded it. In the Carolinas, their first baby passed away in just days. Then in South Dakota, they had a girl, Chris. When the military took Dale to Morocco, June boarded a small military ship to cross the ocean and join him, landing in the tumult of Casablanca. She gave birth to her son, Robert, in  north Africa. Back in the U. S., Tom was born in Illinois.

June loved her family and took on all manner of challenges in their care: ice skating, hiking and camping in the Black Hills, waiting out blizzards, suffering heatwaves, and watching tornadoes on the Great Plains. She endured-and even enjoyed- endless rounds of kids sports, music lessons, plays, pageants, and magic shows (performed by her son, Tom). Religion played a large role in her life and she was eternally faithful. She organized the non-denominational Neighborhood Womens' Bible Coffees while living in Sullivan and was active in the Methodist Church, helping at church socials, Bible School, and summer camp. Time and again, she oversaw the endless logistics of moving the family from place to place as her husband Dale's military and civilian jobs dictated it. Dale's job with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources brought him to Sullivan as the first superintendant at Eagle and Wolf Creek State Parks on Lake Shelbyville.   

She and Dale retired to her homeland in southern Alabama where she spent the final fifty years of her life in a house Dale built on the farm field she once worked. There they hosted friends for Fourth of July fireworks, cared for her aging mother, and watched her grandkids grow as they heard her stories, and wonderful laugh, felt her kind touch, and witnessed her goodness which will surely ripple through their lives, too.

June is survived by her daughter Chris and husband Pete Johnston, son Robert Foreman, son Tom Foreman and wife Linda, six grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her husband Dale, her parents, her brothers, and her daughter-in-law Beth. Her funeral will be held on June 27, 2026 at 10:30 AM at Liberty Congregational Church on Lester Bell Road, Dozier, Alabama, which is the church that she and Dale built and led upon their retirement. Visitation will be the night before in Andalusia, Alabama at the Foreman Brown-Service Funeral Home.  

Mary N. Dotson Lane, 90, passed away peacefully Sunday, June 14, 2025, at her home in Gulf Shores, Alabama, surrounded by her loving family following complications from a stroke and long-term battle with severe arthritis.

Mary was born February 17, 1936, in rural Macon County, Tennessee, the fourth of seven children to parents Curf and Artie Dotson. After moving to Sullivan, Illinois, she met Roger, a classmate at Lowe Elementary School. They grew up together and married in 1955. She worked at the First National Bank in Sullivan until 1958, when she decided to stay home and take care of her growing family. She and Roger had four children - Brad, Don, Belinda Gay, and Jon.

Mary enjoyed being outdoors, designing and tending to her beautiful azaleas and yard at Lake Martin, Alabama. Mary also enjoyed taking day trips, but mostly just being with her family. Her favorite time was every 4th of July for 25 years when her family would come together at her lake home. She will be remembered for her caring, gentle, and generous spirit, and her absolute devotion to her family. She leaves behind a wonderful family of 32.

She is survived by her husband of 71 years, Roger Lane of Gulf Shores; son, Brad (Valerie) Lane of Allentown, Pennsylvania, son, Don (Lavonne) Lane of Daphne, Alabama, daughter, Belinda Gay (Leonard) Kaiser of Orange Beach, Alabama, and son, Jon (Claudia) Lane of Walnut Creek, California; her

grandchildren, Andrea (Jim Shilston), Erin Kaiser, Adam (Erin) Lane, Mallory (Matt) Cahill, Ryan Lane, Rachael (Mason) Howell, Shelby Kaiser (Britian) Murphy, Emma Lane, and Valeria Collazo Gianella; and her great grandchildren, Halle Shilston, Jane Shilston, Larson Chafin, Avery Lane, Grant Lane, Noelle Cahill, Camille Cahill, Juliette Cahill and Miller Murphy.

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

A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Hughes Funeral Home in Daphne, Alabama.

Online expressions of condolences may be made at www.hughesfh.com.

Colleen Brewer, age 69, passed away peacefully on May 24, 2026, at DMH, with her loving sister and brother-in-law by her side.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 29, 2026, at McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Bethany. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Todd’s Point Cemetery, rural Findlay. Memorials may be made to Moultrie County PAWS: PO Box 961 Mattoon, IL 61938

Gary Wayne Newberry

Gary Wayne Newberry, 66, of Lovington, passed away 7:10 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Willow Breeze Hospice House in Mattoon.

Graveside services will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Keller Cemetery, Lovington. Memorials may be made to the Lovington First Church of God. McMullin-Young Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements.

Gary was born on July 22, 1959, in Decatur; the son of Glenn E. and Joan R. (Randol) Newberry. He was an impressive artist and enjoyed doing art projects for many people. Gary loved collecting rocks and especially loved collecting arrow heads.

Gary is survived by his father, Glenn E. Newberry of Lovington; brothers, Keith (Rhonda) Newberry of Sullivan and Vernon Newberry of Lovington; nephews, Ryan Newberry and Nick Newberry; great-niece and great-nephews, Keegan, Leah and Jackson Newberry.

Gary was preceded in death by his mother, Joan.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mcmullinyoung.com