Obituaries
Obituary of Frederick Oscar Kahler
Frederick Oscar Kahler, 89 of Gillespie, died at Gillespie Health and Rehab Center, Gillespie on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at 5:40 pm. Fred Oscar Kahler was born on November 6, 1935, the only child of Oscar and Victoria Kahler in Gillespie.
He attended the Maple Street School and graduated in May 1953 from Gillespie High School. He played varsity football as a line backer, and played the trombone in the high school band. Following high school he worked in the mail room at the state house in Springfield. While in Springfield, he was also active in intramural sports, particularly basketball.
Following his stint in Springfield, he enlisted in the Army for two years and was stationed at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. After being discharged he returned to Springfield to work at Kyanize Paint Company for several years, always returning to his roots to care for his aging mother. After she passed away, Fred moved into her home in Gillespie and worked for Garella Pest Control for a number of years.
In later life, he was a courier for the Carlinville National Bank. Fred lived a simple life tending his vegetable garden, watching his purple martin house, repairing items for his neighbors and friends, and enjoying history television shows and sporting events. But his main passion was model trains – he had a significant train collection of which he was very proud and enjoyed showing his trains to anyone who was interested.
Fred had no living relatives but his special friend over the years was Roberta Wenzel and her daughter, Attorney Nancy Ruyle of Carlinville, with her family who spent many festive holidays with him over the years. He was also a close friend of David and Sandy Bertetti of Andover, MA and GIllespie and Dr. Marc Booth of Chapel Hill, NC whom Fred mentored for many years.
Fred had many friends in Gillespie especially the Thursday morning coffee group and particularly Linda Vidmar who helped him with everyday tasks in his later years.
Friends may call on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at Gillespie Methodist Church from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm with a memorial service to follow at the church at 6:30 pm. Memorials are suggested to Gillespie Methodist Church. Kravanya Funeral Home, Gillespie is in charge of the arrangements.
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Timmy “Pastor Tim” Robbins, 54 of Charles City, passed away on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at the Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City, Iowa.
Timmy Alan Robbins Jr., the son of Timmy Alan Sr. and Eileen (Schrum) Robbins, was born on October 3, 1970, in Farmington, Missouri. He graduated from high school in Gillespie in 1988. He was united in marriage to Amy Hoffstot on December 21, 1990, in Granite City. The couple was blessed with five children, Dustin, Tyler, Loren, Noah, and Levi.
After high school, Tim worked in management at Wal-Mart which is what brought him to Iowa. He soon after began to feel the call to preach in 1991. He began his full-time ministry with Harvest Baptist Church in Fort Dodge as a Youth Pastor. He was also a bus captain, Sunday School teacher, children’s church teacher and served in both prison ministry and nursing home ministry. In 1997, Tim started a church in Kirksville, Missouri. In 2003, the family moved to Charles City and has served as the Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church for the last 22 years.
Tim enjoyed being involved in his community. He also served as the principal of the church’s school and had helped run youth camps in the past. He was on KCHA every Sunday morning, as well as a podcast, and YouTube channel. Tim loved geography, studying maps, and history, especially the Civil War. He enjoyed watching sports like football, NASCAR Racing, and other car racing. He was very active in his children’s sporting events while growing up and coached the church’s softball team.
Most of all, Tim loved his family and cherished every moment spent with them. Tim will be remembered for his kind heart and the unconditional love he had for people.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife, Amy Robbins; children, Dustin (Anna Lauren) Robbins, Tyler (Ashley) Robbins, Loren (Jacob) Scott, Noah (Angela) Robbins, and Levi (Danielle) Robbins; grandchildren, Evan, Hazel, and Cyrus Robbins, as well as Violet Scott, and Jasper Robbins who are in Heaven; father and mother, Tim and Eileen Robbins; sister, Tracy (Dan) Robbins; along with many cousins, nephews, aunts and uncles.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Dolphin & Bessie Schrum, William “Bill” Robbins, and Rosemary Baker; sister, Kimberly Robbins; beloved aunt, Kathy Robbins; aunt, Carol Greenwell; uncles, Aaron Robbins and Dolphin Jr., Donny, and an infant Paul Schrum; and cousin, Terri Dawn.
Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church and continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.
A funeral service for him will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Charles City. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Charles City.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Floyd County Cancer Friends. Hauser Weishaar Funeral Home, (641) 228-2323, 1205 South Main Street, Charles City, Iowa 50616 is in charge of local arrangements.
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David Alan Higgins, 71 of Mount Olive, peacefully passed away on April 17 at HSHS St. Johns hospital in Springfield surrounded by family. He was born on August 23, 1953, in Litchfield.
He graduated from Litchfield High School in 1971 and received a bachelors of art in music composition and theory from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1976. David married Patricia Higgins (Casey) in 1978. Together they had three sons, Robert (born 1980, deceased), Jeffrey (born 1981), and Andrew (born 1987). He was a lifelong teacher of music.
In 1984, after moving with his family to Minier, Illinois, he founded Dave Higgins Music Services where he taught guitar, bass, piano, and banjo, as well as tuned pianos until 2015 when he retired. After retirement, he and Patricia moved from Minier to Mount Olive to be closer to family.
David is survived by his mother, Roberta Higgins (Priori); his wife, Patricia; his sons, Jeffrey and Andrew; a sister, Cathy (Marty) Dillard; a brother, John (Kim) Higgins; and two doting cats, Shadow and Rudy.
He was preceded in death by his father, Melvin Higgins, and his firstborn son, Robert Higgins.
David loved his music, his family, his friends, and his cats. He enjoyed the finer things in life: Cardinals baseball, watching a storm roll in, summer vacations in State and Federal parks, and sitting on the front steps watching the world roll by. He also liked listening to the TV. He is dearly missed by all who knew him, and by a few who only heard about him.
Memorials may be made to Benld United Methodist Church. Visitation is on Saturday, May 3 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Benld United Methodist Church with funeral services following at 11:30 a.m.
Following the funeral, there will be a Celebration of Life at Lake Lou Yaeger in Litchfield, Picnic Area #4, at 1:00 pm. All are welcome to attend. Kravanya Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
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Ronald G. Yurkovich, 87 of Mount Olive, passed away on Friday, April 18, 2025, at 10:55 p.m. at his residence. He was born on June 12, 1937, in Litchfield to Nicholas Yurkovich and Olga (Maren) Yurkovich.
He married Christy L. (Popovich) Yurkovich. Ron served in the US Army as an MP and Retired from Shell Oil Co. He was a lifetime member of Turner Hall, Croation Lodge, and Saint John Paul Catholic Church in Mt. Olive.
He enjoyed road trips with his buddy Filo and relentlessly gave him a hard time. He also enjoyed restaurants with only one rule “No bread, No Yurk!” Ron was a champion poley player and bowler in his opinion, but gave up bowling after throwing his bowling ball in #8 pond.
He is survived by his wife, Christy (Popovich) Yurkovich; son, Stephen (Mindy) Yurkovich; daughter, Catherine Yurkovich; step-son, Stephen (Amanda) Frizzo; five grandchildren, Tiffani Yurkovich, Kahl Yurkovich, Chloe (Heath) Darr, Charlie Frizzo, and George Frizzo; two great-grandchildren, Luke Darr and Riley Darr; sister, Barbara (Bill) Rhodes; brother-in-law, James Thomas; and many loved nieces and nephews.
Ronald was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Joyce Thomas.
Private family services will be held. Memorials are suggested to Catholic Charities Carlinville attn: Sean Caveny or Mt. Olive Library. Kravanya Funeral Home, Gillespie is in charge of the arrangements.
