Gladys Marie Brooks, 97, of Shelbyville, Illinois, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2026, in Shelbyville, Illinois, and slipped into the arms of Jesus.

She was born on November 15, 1928, in Dry Point Township, Shelby County, the daughter of Floyd and Opal Christy. In her later years, she often reflected fondly on her happy childhood on the family farm in Cowden. During those years, she also met Sally Banning Evans, and that friendship grew into a lifelong bond that lasted nearly 90 years, remaining a treasured part of Gladys’s life until Sally’s passing in 2021.

Gladys married Robert W. Mowry, and although his untimely death in 1965 brought great sorrow, their marriage was blessed with a son, Robert “Bob” H. Mowry. As a widow with a young son, she drew on her strong spirit and determined nature to provide for herself and her cherished child. She met each challenge with grit and grace, building a life marked by devotion, perseverance, and quiet strength.

Gladys worked hard, loved deeply, and was always direct and honest in expressing her thoughts and feelings. Those who knew her appreciated her straightforward nature and her unwavering authenticity. In her later months, she said with a twinkle in her eye, “I did it my way in the hard times and in the good times.” That phrase reflected the way she lived her life, with courage, independence, and a steadfast heart.

She took great pride in living a long life that allowed her to watch her grandchildren and great-grandchild grow and build their own families. Her joy was most evident when she spoke about her adorable great-great-grandchildren, who brought her immense happiness and added another cherished generation to her family legacy. Her love for her family was deep and enduring, and her presence will be remembered with gratitude and affection by all who were blessed to know her.

Gladys is survived by her grandsons, Robert “Rob” (Kasey) Mowry, and Gregory (Ronna) Mowry; her great-grandchildren, Nichael (Destiny) Mowry, Maci Mowry (Braylee Bell), Jaxon (Angela) Mowry, Chrisitan (Grace) Mowry, and Emily (Dalton) Vanausdoll; her great-great-grandchildren, Banqs, Jayce, Houston, and Attika, along with three more on the way; and special friends, Mark and Karla Goodwin, Nancy Kistler, and Robin Young.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Opal Christy, her husband, her beloved son Bob in 2021, her cherished grandson Christopher in 1991, and her two sisters, Irene and Louise.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at Lockart-Green Funeral Home in Shelbyville with Pastor Bill Smith officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Interment will follow in Findlay Cemetery. Memorials in her name may be given to the Shelby Christian Church or American Legion Post 409 of Findlay and may be mailed to Lockart-Green Funeral Home, 302 W. Main St., Shelbyville, IL 62565.  

Family and friends are invited to share a story or light a candle at www.lockartgreenfuneralhome.com.

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.