All Obituaries

C Daniel Dillman, 90, of DeKalb, IL, passed away on April 21, 2024. He was a lifelong educator who was passionate about teaching and about baseball.   Dan was a distinguished professor of Geography at Northern Illinois University, where he taught for more than 40 years. Dan taught undergraduates and graduate students, and he enjoyed his involvement with the honors program. In his post-retirement years he and his wife, Joanne Dillman, volunteered with NIU’s Lifelong Learning...

Barbara Louise Moser, 91, passed away on April 21, 2024, at Grand Victorian in Sycamore, IL. She was born October 17, 1932 in Greenville, MI, daughter of the late Raymond and Frances (Weeks) VanVlerah. Barbara married Kenneth Moser on November 27, 1954 in Cortland, Illinois. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, niece, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth, son Todd, great-granddaughter Mattea Lesorgen, sisters Betty (Kenneth) Snyder...

John K. “Jack” Rhoads, 93, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away Sunday, April 21, 2024, at his home.  He was born July 11, 1930, in Reading, PA, the son of Len and Gertrude (Berger) Rhoads. John married Ruth Harris in 1960. Jack was a graduate of Reading High School in Pennsylvania class of 1948. He graduated from Albright College in Reading in 1952 with a Bachelor’s degree.  He received his Master’s Degree from Case Western University in 1953 and a PhD from...

Otta  Ritzman, 96, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away Sunday, April 21, 2024, at Oak Crest DeKalb Area Retirement Center.  She was born February 4, 1928, in Lee, Illinois, the daughter of Otto and Vina (Jacobson) Rygh. Otta married Allyn Ritzman on December 4, 1948, in Lee. Otta graduated valedictorian from Shabbona High School in 1945. She was employed at GE for 35 Years.  She was a member of First Lutheran Church in DeKalb for many decades. She loved to sing, hum and...

Margaret C. Carlton, 88, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2024 in DeKalb, IL. She was born and raised in Vermont, and graduated valedictorian of her high school class.   She moved to Los Angeles in her late teens, and worked at a local bank.  While living in Southern California, she met and married her late husband, Burley, and together they had four daughters.  The family relocated to DeKalb, Illinois in 1970.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree at Northern...

G. Howard Little, 89, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away peacefully Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at his home under care of Heartland Hospice.  He was born September 20, 1934 in Carlinville, Illinois, the son of Earl and Viola Little. On April 9, 1958 he married Sandra Loveless of Palmyra, Illinois.  Howard graduated from Carlinville Unit District #1. After high school, he served in the US Army stationed in Germany. He worked in the grain industry for many years including elevator...

Kathleen Ellen “Kathy” (Surdyk) Wells, 78, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 15th, 2024, at home, with loving family by her side. Born July 29, 1945, in Hammond, Indiana, the daughter of Helen (Rupp) and Mickey Surdyk, Kathy married Richard Randolph “Dick” Wells on July 20, 1968, at Newman Catholic Student Center - Christ the Teacher University Parish in DeKalb. They shared almost 46 wonderful years together. Kathy was raised in Calumet...

Earl Hanssen, 64, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away Friday, April 12, 2024, at his Home.  He was born January 21, 1960, in Harwood Heights, Illinois, the son of Earl and Marian (Marquardt) Hanssen. Earl married Lynn Devers on May 12, 1984 in Elgin, Illinois.  Earl was a computer programmer for Northern Illinois University. He then worked at Peoplesoft before returning to NIU prior to his retirement. He enjoyed playing board games especially 18XX, watching NASCAR, Formula One and...

Richard E. Fogel, 92, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at the home of his daughter, Myla, surrounded by his loved ones. He was born at home on March 7, 1932 in Freeport, IL the son of Harry and Bethel (Pepperman) Fogel. He married the love of his life, Lois Greeley, on January 22, 1955 in North Platte, Nebraska.  Dick and Lois met on a blind date in Denver, Colorado where he was serving in the United States Army and Lois was living and working at the...

Frank Xavier Ramirez, 53, of DeKalb, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Journey Care Hospice in Barrington, Illinois. He was born August 9, 1970, in DeKalb, the son of Javier and Martha (Lopez) Ramirez.  He was a Veteran of the US Army. He is survived by his parents;  his children Francisco X. Ramirez II, Arissa Rodriguez, Chance Ramirez, and Aidan Ramirez;  seven grandchildren;  his siblings Sylvia (Jose) Ibarra, Karlos (Alejandra) Ramirez, Francis...