Obituaries
Obituary of Rev. Avis June Richardson
Rev. Avis June Richardson, 93, of Staunton, exchanged her earthly home for an eternal home on April 4, 2025. She was born opn June 20, 1931 in Burlington, CO, the third child of the late Elvis Guy and Sarah Margaret (Yale) Foley. She was raised in the home of her grandparents, William & Nellie Yale. At age 4, during the days of the “Dust Bowl”, her family moved to Missouri and settled in the southwest corner of the state near Neosho, where she spent the next 14 years of her life.
When she was 17, she met and married David Walter Richardson on May 19, 1949. To this union three children were born, Angela Jane (Charles) Pfeifer, John William (Barbara) Richardson, and Alisa Jean (Bill) Hoffman.
In 1968, Avis entered the ministry of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and in 1971 she received her ordination into the ministry of UMC. Upon finishing her theological studies at Northwestern University in 1977, she received Associate Membership with the Southern Illinois Conference in 1978.
During her ministry, she received appointments to 9 charges (13 churches) including Beckemeyer, Hamburg, Batchtown, Bellview, St. Jacob, Waltonville, Shiloh (Mt. Vernon area), Patoka, Vernon, Staunton, Dorchester, Wood River Evangelical, and Wanda, IL. After retiring in 1998 (for 18 months), she served as Interim Pastor for St. Paul United Church of Christ in Staunton for two years; then returned to serve for five more years at First United Methodist Church in Staunton.
She was a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary of Staunton. She also served on the Conference Committee for Voices of Children, and the Board of the UM Village in Lawrenceville, IL. In 1984, with donations from the American Red Cross, she began the Staunton Food Pantry, which was housed in the UMC for 15 years. For over 50 years, she wrote her “To You…With Love” column for local newspapers, writing for the Staunton Star-Times for over 36 years.
She is survived by one daughter, Alisa (Bill) Hoffman of Staunton; seven grandchildren, Aimee June (Casey) Baker of Cabot, AR, Crystal Dawn (Pete) Hoffman of Staunton, Robert Allen (Krista) Hoffman of Staunton, Michelle Diane (Shawn) Way of Taylor, MS, William Craig (Lou) Pfeifer of Fredrich, CO, Melissa Ann (Kevin) Piening of Bethalto, and Terri Lynn (Mikey) Hoffman of Gillespie; fourteen great grandchildren, Amanda (Chris), Christian, Amber (Adam), Samantha, Holly, Alexis (Blake), Mali (Matt), Layla, Grayson, Leah, Anna, Orion, Liam, and Maya; eight great great grandchildren, Michelle, Dakota, Joseph, Oliver, Ariana, Ivy, Blayklee, and Carter; and one sister-in-law, Mary (Richardson) Foley.
Besides her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Angela; her son, John; her great granddaughter, Bethany; her sister, Melva Foley; her brother, William Foley; three brothers-in-law, Howard Van Buren, Ivan Ping, and John Richardson; three sisters-in-law, Marsha (Mason) Richardson, Nancy (Richardson) Ping, and Alice Van Buren; two nieces, Nancy Lee Ping and Ruth Van Buren; and one nephew, Jack Richardson.
Visitation will be held from 10 AM to 12 noon on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at First United Methodist Church in Staunton. Funeral services will be held at 12 noon on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at First United Methodist Church in Staunton with Pastor Nancy Hubert officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Staunton.
Memorials are suggested to either First United Methodist Church of Staunton or to the family.
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Grace “Sally” Agnes Schuerman, 74 of Nokomis, passed away at Mercy Hospital, St. Louis, MO on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 11:49 pm. She was born on December 28, 1951, in Hillsboro to the late John Whitlow and Agnes Haggarty Whitlow.
She married James Schuerman on June 7, 1975 in Decatur. She worked as a dietician, home health aide and cook. James and Sally were foster parents to many children over the years. She loved horses and her grandkids.
She is survived by her children, April Balestri (James) of Eagarville, Cris “Bill” Schuerman of Nokomis, and Crystal (Greg) Linton of Aldrich, MO; daughter in law, Kasey Schuerman; grandchildren, Paul Balestri, Gracelynn Balestri, Hunter Schuerman, and Andy Linton; brother, Guy (Norma) Whitlow of Nokomis; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; spouse; son, Charles Schuerman; sister, Rosemary (Rosie) Hopwood; brother, Sam Whitlow; and niece, Kathy Whitlow.
No services are scheduled at this time. Kravanya Funeral Home, Gillespie is in charge of the arrangements.
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Paul F. Madden, 61 of Gillespie, died at his residence on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 10:08 pm. He was born on September 27, 1964, in Litchfield to John Patrick Madden and Barbara Ann (Resnik) Madden Sawyer.
He married Elizabeth Ann (Morland) Madden on June 5, 2015 in Forsyth, IL. He was a sales manager in the equipment manufacturing industry. Paul was a huge golfer who also enjoyed music, playing the guitar, riding his bike, walking his dog, running and traveling.
He is survived by his spouse, Elizabeth Ann (Morland) Madden of Gillespie; daughter, Colleen (Ryan) Cash of Carlinville; step daughter, Zoey Mayo of Gillespie; brothers, John P (Betsy) Madden of St. Paul, MN, Timothy J. (Anne) Madden of Lemont, IL, and David W. (Sarah) Madden of Urbana, IL; and step father, George Sawyer of Gillespie.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Mark D. Madden.
Friends may call on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at Kravanya Funeral Home in Gillespie from 10:00 am until 11:30 am. Funeral mass will be on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at SS Simon & Jude Church in Gillespie at 12:00 pm. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Gillespie, IL.
Memorials are suggested to Partnership For Educational Excellence District #7, BJC Hospice or Siteman Cancer Center. Kravanya Funeral Home, Gillespie is in charge of the arrangements.
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