Donald Schneider
Donald Al Schneider, 64, of Bloomington, passed away at 11:50 a.m., Dec. 13 at Advocate BroMenn Regional Medical Center, Normal.
Funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday at Apostolic Christian Church, Gridley. Ministers of the church will officiate.
Burial will be in the Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery, Bay City, Miss. on Saturday.
Visitation will be held from 2-8:00 p.m., Wednesday at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury and 10-10:45 a.m., Thursday at the church.
Memorials may be made to Apostolic Christian Home for the Handicapped, Timber Ridge, Morton.
Donald was born Sep. 24, 1950, in Manchester, Conn. the son of Albert and Gladys Luginbuhl Schneider.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Sandra (Schlatter) Schneider. They were married on April 16, 1972 in Bay City, Miss.
He was a special dad to Melanie (Ed) Teubel of Fairbury and Todd Schneider of Morton. He also has two loving grandchildren, Andrea and Kelsi Teubel.
Also surviving are his brother Jim (Sandra) Schneider of Fairbury and Ralph (Tina) Schneider of Ellington, Conn. He was also loved by many nieces, nephews, and brothers and sisters in-law. Family was very special to him.
Donald was a purchasing agent for British Precision and Jet Air, he owned and operated D&S Precision, and was in property management in Illinois and Connecticut.
He was involved with Apostolic Christian Church World Relief mission trips. He also was a volunteer at Advocate BroMenn Regional Medical Center and Fairview Haven Retirement Community.
Donald was a member of the Apostolic Christian Church in Gridley and also Rockville, Conn.
Don will be dearly missed by his family.
Condolences and tributes may be made to the family at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.
Norman Rittenhouse
Norman Phillips Rittenhouse, 74, of Fairbury died unexpectedly at his residence Dec. 13 of apparent heart failure.
Friends may call at the Duffy-Pils Memorial Home in Fairbury at 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. The funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. on Friday at the McDowell Methodist Church, McDowell, conducted by the Rev. Andy Black. Burial will be in Memorial Park, Pontiac full military rites will be accorded.
He is survived by his wife, Patti of Fairbury; two daughters, Susan (Thomas) Hazlett of Bloomington and Sarah (Maurice) Rittenhouse of Oklahoma City, Okla.; one step-daughter, Stephanie Pfersich of Austin, Texas; two brothers, Greg Rittenhouse of Los Angeles, Calif.; Eric Rittenhouse of Pensacola, Fla.; two sisters, Beth Newell of Modjeska Canyon, Calif. and Marilyn Metzler of Columbus, Ind.; one granddaughter, Cierra Hazlett of Bloomington and two step-grandchildren, August and Ivy Pfersich of Austin.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
Mr. Rittenhouse was born June 23, 1940, in Bloomington, the son of Floyd and Dorothy (Phillips) Rittenhouse. He grew up on the family farm in Pontiac and graduated from Pontiac Township High School in 1958. He attended Bradley University where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. A former U.S. Marine and member of the National Guard, he attended the McDowell Methodist Church and was chairman of the Fairbury Planning Commission.
He married Patti Farnham on June 19, 1993, Fairbury.
An entrepreneur, businessman and inventor, Mr. Rittenhouse was in business for himself for more than 50 years, owning eight businesses. Over the years, he earned 14 U.S. patents, nearly all involving innovative methods to build electric motors.
He grew up in an age of possibilities; when space travel became a reality and technology enabled dreams. These possibilities fueled his passion for learning and inspired his belief that anything is possible. Even in tough times, he said, a person with ambition, passion and a good idea can make it in business.
He started out in the television business in 1963 and helped usher in the era of color TV. His success in that business led to many other ventures, including flying, building and leasing helicopters. He taught flying lessons to local individuals and even celebrities. Later he designed propulsion systems for riverboats, 14 in all, including the “Spirit of Peoria,” and “The Twilight.”
Recently, he and his team designed and built electric motors for the U.S. Navy. He also owned Fairbury Furniture and Crossroads Furniture in Chenoa and was involved in farming.
Mr. Rittenhouse also liked to have fun. “Work hard, play hard” was his motto. An avid motorcyclist, he even took one final, enjoyable motorcycle ride the afternoon of the day he died.
Pontiac residents could count on seeing Mr. Rittenhouse jet-skiing on the Vermillion River in summers. He also enjoyed waterskiing, To prove that the propulsion system he built for the “Spirit of Peoria” was capable of high speeds, he waterskied behind the river boat down the Illinois River.
He was inspired by music, and was a subscriber of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for more than 25 years. Just recently he had begun a music recording business.
Mr. Rittenhouse had a deep love for his family and his Central Illinois heritage. He was proud to be involved in his community, and despite numerous career opportunities elsewhere, he never wanted to live anywhere but here.
His family and friends will miss him very much. Memorials may be made to the Livingston County Humane Society or McDowell Methodist Church.
An online guest registry is available at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.
