Virginia Chavez
Virginia Chavez (Lara), age 82, passed away Saturday, March 17 at her home in Fairbury, Ill., surrounded by her family and much love. Virginia was born April 14, 1935 in Tivoli, Tex., the daughter of Carlos Lara and Isidra Castillo.
On June 24, 1955 Virginia married Jose Chavez in Depue, Ill. Through the 63 years of marriage, Virginia had different employment, found a faith that she made her own and with her husband welcomed their five children; Joe Jr., Carlos, Jerry, Rene and Iris. She was also blessed with five grandchildren; Nicolette, Yesenia, Jenna, Yasmine, Raquel and Mateo and two great grandchildren; Adalene and Roslyn. Family was what brought her the most joy.
Virginia was a member of the Jehovah Witnesses congregation in Pontiac, Ill. She had a tremendous faith and love for her beliefs and often sought opportunities to share with others.
Virginia is survived by her husband, Jose Chavez; children, Joe Chavez Jr. of Fairbury, Carlos (Sonia) Chavez of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, Jerry (Renee) Chavez of Manhattan, Ill., Rene Chavez of Fairbury and Iris (Philippe) Boland of Hudson, Ill.. Also, survived by brothers Homero Lara of Florida, Oscar Lara of Texas and sisters, Lila Sosa and Lela Lara of Texas.
Visitation to be held Friday, March 23, 4-8 p.m. at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, 100 W. Maple Street, Fairbury.
A guest registry is available at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.
Phyllis Runyon
Phyllis M. Runyon, 86 of Fairbury, passed away Saturday, March 17, 2018 at Fairview Haven Retirement Community, Fairbury, Ill.
Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, March 23 at First United Methodist Church, Fairbury with Pastor Ann Champion officiating. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery, Fairbury.
Visitation will be 4-7 pm, Thursday, March 22 at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury; and 9:30-10:15 a.m., Friday, prior to the funeral at the church.
Memorial contributions may be directed to SELCAS or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Phyllis was born Sept. 10, 1931 in Fairbury, the daughter of Phillip and Gladys Meeker Thompson. She married Delbert L. “Sam” Runyon on Sept. 30, 1951 in Fairbury. He preceded her in death. She is also preceded in death by a daughter, Margo Diamond; two grandsons, David Norman and one in infancy; two sisters, Marilyn Rice and JoAnne Myers; and a brother, John Thompson.
Survivors include two sons, Mark P. (Julie) Runyon of Fairbury, Scott M. (Suzanne) Runyon of Pontiac; daughter, Gail Norman of Normal, IL; son-in-law, Ira Diamond of Ramsey, NJ; six grandchildren, Matthew Diamond, Aaron Diamond, Trent (Shelley) Runyon, Josh Runyon, Trisha Prather and Trevor Runyon; two great-granddaughters, Kylie Runyon and Maeve Runyon.
Phyllis was an avid member of the First United Methodist Church of Fairbury, United Methodist Women and Silver League. She was also an avid Cubs fan, enjoyed traveling, and always enjoyed her lunch days with the 4 Phyl’s.
She will be dearly missed by her family and all that knew her in her many endeavors.
A guest registry is available at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com.
