John LOESCHEN

LAPRAIRIE, Ill. -- John B. Loeschen, 91, of LaPrairie, died at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 23, 2010) in Blessing Hospital. He was born on Dec. 6, 1918, in Flatville, the eighth of 11 children born to Borgert and Trentje Osterbur Loeschen. John was baptized on Jan. 12, 1919, and confirmed on March 25, 1934, at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Flatville. He married Patricia Ann Maxwell on Jan. 25, 1947, in Keyport, N.J. She died Jan. 3, 1993. He later married Roxine Dosier on Sept. 25, 1997, in Columbia, Mo. She survives. John coached the Champaign County women's softball league before he began serving as a reconnaissance pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He flew more than 32 different aircraft, including the P51 Mustang. During the service he played semi-pro baseball, pitching against Bob Feller and Satchel Paige. In 1948, he began working with his brother Albert at Al's Hardware and later became owner of Loeschen Plumbing and Heating in LaPrairie, retiring in 2007 at the age of 88. He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Golden, a 63-year member of the Golden American Legion Post 802 and the Augusta VFW. He served as the mayor of LaPrairie. John was a passionate lifelong Cubs and Fighting Illini fan and a master storyteller. Also surviving are one son, Steven Loeschen (Karen) of Golden; three daughters, Margaret "Peg" Webster (Wes) of Apex, N.C., Julie Cross of Quincy and Kimberly Wright (Randy) of Washington, Ill.; and one stepdaughter, Lu Ann Freeman (Bruce) of Quincy. He was a loving grandfather to 10 grandchildren and 11 stepgrandchildren, including Ann Wedig of Shakopee, Minn., Kati Wedig, of Minneapolis, Cristin Wedig of Quincy, Travis Loeschen of Urbana, Aaryn Guta of Holly Springs, N.C., Ashley Liggitt of Cary, N.C., Alana Catalano of Holly Springs, Andrew Bastic of Bitburg, Germany, Lindsey Nelson of Chicago, Reagan Nelson of St. Louis, Derek Nelson of San Antonio, Texas, John Wright of Atlanta, Ga., Doug Wright of Urbana, Elizabeth Winfield and Catherine Freeman, both of Quincy; seven great-grandchildren, eight stepgreat-grandchildren; three sisters-in-law, Minnie Loeschen of Royal, Lucy Maxwell of Peoria, and Jeannine Freyling (Dave) of Decatur; two brothers-in-law, Bill Granger of Florida and Don Maxwell (Judy) of Citrus Springs, Fla.; several nieces and nephews; and Tena, man's best friend. He was preceded in death by a stepdaughter Anita Dosier; four brothers, Henry, Albert, William and Bernhard Loeschen; and six sisters, Abbie Price, Frieda Hayn, Margaret Loeschen, Bertha Granger, Helen Brookshier and Mary Ruether. SERVICES: 11 a.m. Saturday in the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Golden with the Rev. Linda Murray conducting. Burial will be in Golden Memorial Gardens with military rites by the Golden American Legion Post 802. VISITATION: 4 to 7 p.m. Friday in the Hunter Funeral Home in Golden. MEMORIALS: Immanuel Lutheran Church, Blessing Foundation or the ;(function() { var adKeyValue = 't='; adKeyValue += escape('clio=AHA'); adKeyValue += escape('&cobrand=whig'); adKeyValue += escape('&linktext=American Heart Association'); adKeyValue += escape('&linkurl=http://donate.heart.org/site/c.fmJUKcOZJkI8G/b.8077571/k.6133/Donate_to_American_Heart_Association/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=68LEG&trib_fname=John&trib_lname=LOESCHEN&honor=true'); adKeyValue += escape('&fn=John'); adKeyValue += escape('&ln=LOESCHEN'); var adClkUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=2026870957'; var adImpUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=2026870957'; document.write("American Heart Association"); }()); . ARRANGEMENTS: Hunter Funeral Home, Golden. WEB SITE: www.hunterfh.com.

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