Obituaries

Morseville

Dean Coppernoll, 93

Dean Coppernoll, 93, passed on March 15, 2021, in Fayetteville Arkansas, where he and his wife Sue lived for the past 11 years. Dean was born in Morseville, the son of George and Rebecca Townsend Coppernoll on April 25, 1928. He was a brother to Betty Jean Albrecht, Gilbert Coppernoll, Esther DeVoe, and is survived by his younger brother Norman. He was a beloved Uncle to his nieces and nephews and surrogate father to friends of his children. His wife Sue, children Doug (Nancy), Mary Lee, Jeff (Susan), Connie (Jimmy), and Kelly, 6 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren, family and friends will greatly miss this gentle man and mentor.

Please join us for a Celebration Of Life at the Morseville Cemetery at 2 p.m. October 12, 2021, with a luncheon at Stellas’ Café in downtown Stockton to follow.

Pearl City

Gordon “Buck” Garnhart, 81

Gordon “Butch” M. Garnhart, age 81, of Pearl City, IL passed away peacefully on September 29, 2021 at Liberty Village.

Gordon was born on March 3, 1940 in Freeport, IL. He was the son of Robert and Zelda (Pierce) Garnhart. He graduated from Pearl City High School in 1958. On September 10, 1960 he married the love of his life, Carol Parkinson at the Little Brown Church in Nashau Iowa. They have been partners for life and happily married for 61 years.

Gordon proudly chose to serve his country in the United States Army and was stationed in Honolulu Hawaii, where he and Carol were blessed with the birth of their only son, Jeffrey Garnhart. Butch was very proud to be a veteran of our Armed Forces.

His life work was being a crane operator for the local union 150. He always enjoyed talking about the different jobs he worked on in the area. His church, Legion, and Masons were the organizations he gave his extra time too.

Trap shooting was the sport he truly loved and enjoyed. If he only shot 98 out of 100 it was a bad day for him. Exercising at the Y or socializing at the Coffee Pot were his form of entertainment. He made many great friends from this. He was an avid mushroom hunter, even known to sneak into a timber or two. Then he would share them with others. He loved to play tricks and pranks on others in his own way.

Gordon is survived by his wife, Carol; his brother, Marvin Garnhart of Uvalde, TX; his sisters, Charlotte Kitner of Sherburn, MN, Colleen (Jim) Raders of Lena, IL; his sister-in-law, Anita Reed of FL; his brothers-in-law, Lynn Parkinson of Bourbonnais, IL, Jim (Nancy) Parkinson of Forreston, Bill (Nancy) Parkinson of Springfield, TN; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his son, Jeff; his parents, Robert and Zelda Garnhart; Carol’s parents, Burdette and Myrtle Parkinson; his sister, Mary Ann and her son, Scott; his brothers-in-law, Doug Kitner and Jim Reed; and his sisters-in-law, Marie Garnhart and Margie Garnhart.

The funeral service was held on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at St. John Lutheran Church in Pearl City at 11:00 a.m. There was a visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. Interment took place at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Freeport with Military Honors and a Masonic Service. A memorial fund has been established. Condolences may be shared at http://www.hermannfuneralhome.com.

Stockton

Gerald A. Naese, 81

Gerald Allen Naese, 81, of Stockton, Ill. died Sunday, September 26 at the Freeport Hospice Unit of FHN.

He was born on August 26, 1940 in Manteno, Ill., to Floyd Naese and Cynthia Becker Naese.

Jerry, as he was known to his friends and family, was a lifelong farmer following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He and his wife, Violet (Hengl) raised their three children in Northwest Illinois, originally moving to Galena from Kankakee, Ill. and then to Freeport and ultimately to Stockton, where he had a dairy operation and retired after 45 years.

He is preceded in death by his parents, two sisters (Linda Naese and Faye Payne) and one brother (John Naese), and one daughter-in-law (Virginia Hill Naese).

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Violet Naese, and their children – Tom Naese (Karen) of Stockton, Bill Naese (Vionna) of Stockton and Susan Barreto (Sergio) of Urbana, IL. He was a proud Grandpa to Ethan and Lucas Barreto.

Known for his many problem-solving inventions, Naese was well known in the area for his so called ‘Piggyback’ tractor that was an International Harvester 706 and Super M that he combined to have additional horsepower to farm the rugged hills of JoDaviess County. His ‘2 plus 2’ was featured at length in April 1981 in the Freeport Journal Standard.

A funeral service was held Thursday, September 30, 2021 at Calvary United Methodist Church in Stockton at 11:00 a.m. with a visitation that began at 10:00 a.m. Interment will take place at Ladies Union Cemetery in Stockton. A memorial fund has been established. Condolences may be shared at http://www.hermannfuneralhome.com.

Sabula, Iowa

Frederick “Fred” Bresette, 91

The Mississippi River flowed right by his home. Frederick “Fred” Bresette, age 91, of Sabula, passed away Monday, September 27, 2021 at his daughter’s home in Loves Park, Illinois.

Fred cared about the communities where he lived. He served in the US Navy and contributed to each community in his own way. While at Sabula, he operated a ferry for folks whenever the bridge was closed (or until the government took over.) He also operated a small machine shop in Sabula named B&C Industries. When Fred lived in Rockford and Rochelle, he was an inventor and business owner, working with WF & John Barnes Co., AW Anderson Mfg, Panelectric Mfg, Arbor Industries Sheet Metal and Somaca Mfg. “He could sell any idea and was a Jack-of-all-trades, master of most!”

Fred was born August 16, 1930 near Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Frederick Sr. and Joan (Provencal) Bresette. When he was nine, the family moved to Rockford where Fred attended school and then served in the Navy from 1948 - 1951, aboard the USS Coral Sea Aircraft Carrier in the Mediterranean. Fred married Olive Kirchner in 1948 and they raised two daughters, Linda and Susan.

He later married Shirley (Myers) Conner June 30, 1990. Throughout their life together, they enjoyed their home along the Mississippi River, where Fred rented-out docks. They would often take week-long boat excursions and travel with friends up and down the Mississippi. In their motorhome they also ventured across country to visit with family and friends. Shirley passed away September 12, 2020.

Fred was a member of the American Legion in Sabula and the US Power Squadron Boating Club where he served as a past Commodore. He also served as a volunteer fireman while living in Rochelle. He loved visiting lighthouses, especially near Norfolk, Virginia and Rhode Island where he was stationed while in the Navy. Fred believed, where there was a will, there was a way. “If someone said you can’t do it, he was going to make damn sure he could do it! He was both intelligent, and complicated.”

Fred is survived by two daughters, Linda Ware of Freeport and Susan Gillespie of Loves Park; step-daughter, Kathy (Steve) Austin; daughter-in-law, Sheila Conner; Grandchildren: Monica (Richard) Johnson, Michael (Jillian) Austin, Mark (Katy) Austin, Jennifer (Brett) Miller, Caitlyn Conner, Brock (Mandi) Conner; and Great Grandchildren: Jonathan, Lauren, William, Annabelle, Grant, Ellen Marie, Margaret, Levi, Amelia, Ruby, Violet, Payton, Paige, Arianna, Alanna, Kaleb, Konner, Kole, and Monica.

Fred was preceded in death by both parents; a sister, Trudy Stroup; brothers-in-law, William, Paul and Artie; a step-son Kevin; and his first wife, Olive, and his wife, Shirley.

A Celebration of Life service was held at 12:00 noon Friday, October 1, 2021 at Law-Jones Funeral Home, Savanna, Illinois with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial was in Evergreen Cemetery, Sabula with Military honors. Friends are invited to share in Fred’s life at lawjonesfuneralhome.com.