RAMONA MAE LANIER

Ramona Mae Lanier, 79, of Sycamore, passed away peacefully in the early afternoon of Sunday, July 9, 2023, at her home in Sycamore.

She was born June 16, 1944, in Joliet, IL, the daughter of proud innovative farmer James Franklin and Ruth E. (Wills) Holderman of Morris, IL.

Mona grew up on a farm in rural Grundy County outside Morris. She received her elementary education in a country one-room schoolhouse and later in Coal City. She graduated from Morris Community High School in 1962. After high school, she attended the University Of Illinois.

She married her high school sweetheart Gerald “Jerry” Lanier in New Buffalo, Michigan, on May 23, 1964. They moved to Malta, Illinois, and lived there for four years. In 1969 they moved to DeKalb, where they raised their family, and she was a homemaker. Later, she received her bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University in Home Economics. In 2000 Mona and Jerry moved to Sycamore.

Mona worked for The Illinois DCFS for a few years in the mid-1970s. She worked at NIU in records and registration from 1997-2007. She was a member of Hillcrest Covenant Church of DeKalb, Coal City Area Club, DeKalb County Night Owls, DeKalb County Farm Bureau, and the Sycamore Sportsman's Club. Mona was a Master Gardener and enjoyed spending time in her yard. She especially loved visiting Rice Lake in Cohasset, MN, and road trips to National Parks. She was passionate about participating in Boy Scouts with her grandson, Alex. She also relished watching sports on TV with her grandson Royce. Mona cherished every minute spent with granddaughter Ruby and grandson Niko from San Francisco, CA.

Mona had a loving, quirky laugh and sense of humor. She liked to dance, play board games, and complete puzzles. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. She loved her two black labs “Kaycee” and “Juley” and two cats “Bootsie” and “Jeffery.”

She is survived by her children, Karen Lanier-Grados of Sycamore and Christopher (girlfriend Debbie) Lanier of San Francisco, CA; four grandchildren, Ruby and Niko Lanier and Alexander and Royce Grados; one sister Janet (Rodney) Nunemaker of Randolph, NJ; one brother, Honorable Judge James F. (Paula) Holderman Jr. of LaGrange, nieces, and nephews; Alissa, Fred, Dave, Craig, Brad, Keith, Jessica, Kathryn, Laura, James, Bill, Mike, Jackie, Chad, Jackie, Jenny, Kevin, Andrea, Trent, and Fran Michael; Brother-in-law Bill Allen, Sister-in-law Delores Kelly, Brother-in-law Ron (Bobbie) Lanier, sister-in-law Brenda Lanier, sister-in-law Doreen Deneau, numerous great nieces, nephews, and cousins, family friend Karen Maruoka and best friend, Charlene Sandberg.

Preceding her in death were her parents, Franklin and Ruth; brother David in infancy; her husband Jerry, father and mother-in-laws Roy R and Shirley E (Gang) Lanier, sister Jean Ann Robinson, identical twin sister Roberta “Bertie” Allen, brother-in-law Larry Lanier, brother-in-law Bill Robinson, and brother-in-law Erwin(Sonny) Kelly.

The memorial service will be held at 11 am with a luncheon immediately following on Monday, July 31, at Hillcrest Covenant Church, 1515 North First Street, DeKalb; the visitation will be from 3 pm to 6 pm Sunday, July 30, at Anderson Funeral Home. Interment of cremated remains will be held at a later date at Brookside Cemetery in Mazon, IL.

Memorials can be made to the Ramona M. Lanier memorial fund, sent in care of Anderson Funeral Home P.O. Box 605, 2011 South Fourth Street DeKalb IL 60115. 

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