FOURTH GENERATION

96. Lester Frederick HILGENDORF was born on 3 Dec 1908 in Buckley, Iroquois County, Illinois. ⁽¹²²⁾ He died on 19 Sep 1957 in Gibson City, Ford County, Illinois. ⁽¹²³⁾

Lester Hilgendorf

Funeral services were held on Friday afternoon, Sept. 20, at 2 o'clock in St. John's Lutheran Church for Lester Frederick Hilgendorf, 48. Interment was in Pine Ridge cemetery, Loda. The service followed a family prayer service at 1:30 p.m. in the Kelley Memorial Home.
Mr. Hilgendorf died in Gibson City hospital where he had been a patient two hours. Death was due to pneumonia.
Born Dec. 3, 1908, near Buckley, he was reared and attended the St. John Parish schools here. He is survived by his wife, Agnes Smith Hilgendorf who he married Feb. 9, 1954 at Watseka, two step-sons, Roger and Kenneth Smith; three step-daughters, Bonnie and Marie Smith (twins) and Joyce Smith all at home and all are students in the Buckley-Loda schools in Buckley.
Also surviving are his mother and foster father, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ronna, Loda; two half-sisters, Mrs. Arthur (Irma) Ennen, Loda, Mrs. Dwain (Lois) Grohler, Thawville and six half-brothers, Robert, Delmar, Laurence and Orville Ronna, all of Loda, Clarence Ronna, Milford and Arnold of Onarga.
He and his family had resided in Buckley and he was employed and farmed on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Marten near Buckley. The Rev. Walther A. Eissfeldt, pastor, officiated and spoke words taken from Job 14 and Psalm 31:5 and 15. Flowers were arranged by Jean Marten, Selma Hull, Meta Wagner, Pearl Reynolds, Ada Luening and Elaine Steinman. Pall bearers were Armand Luening, Arthur Wagner, Earl Marten, Jerald Marten, Leonard Hull and Delbert Lustfield.
Hymns were "Asleep in Jesus" and "Jesus Lover of my Soul." and were favorites of the deceased.

He was buried on 20 Sep 1957 in Pine Ridge Cemetery, Loda, Iroquois County, Illinois.⁽⁵⁾

He was married to Agnes WYATT on 9 Feb 1954 in Watseka, Iroquois County, Illinois. Agnes WYATT was born on 10 Feb 1915 in Glasgow, Kentucky. She died on 16 Mar 1984 in Paxton, Ford County, Illinois. ⁽¹²⁴⁾

Agnes Hilgendorf

Agnes Hilgendorf, 69, Buckley, died at 5:10 a.m. today, Friday, March 16, 1984, at Paxton Hospital, where she had been a patient for one month.
She was born Feb. 10, 1915, at Glasgow, Ky., to Clovis and Mattie Kinslow Wyatt. She married James D. Smith on Jan. 27, 1937, at Glasgow. He died April 10, 1945. Her second marriage was to Lester Hilgendorf on Feb. 9, 1954, at Watseka. He died Sept. 19, 1957.
Survivors include two sons, James Roger Smith of Buckley and Kenneth Smith, Copperas Cove, Texas; three daughters, Mrs. John (Marie) Curtis, Mrs. Charles (May) Vaughn and Mrs. Glenn (Joyce) Langley, all of Paxton; 13 grandchildren; and four sisters, Ruby Hope of Fithian, Edna Lane of Muncie, Gladys Strange of Indianapolis and Lula May Mills, Austin, Ky.
A son, two sisters and two brothers are deceased.
Mrs. Hilgendorf was retired from Switchcraft at Paxton.
She was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church at Buckley, where the Rev. William Allshouse will conduct services at 11 a.m. Monday. Burial will be in Pine Ridge Cemetery, Loda.
Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Sunday at Ford-Baier Funeral Home, Paxton
Memorials may be made in her name to the decorating fund at St. John's. Lutheran Church.