Charles “Byron” Smith, 58, of Orient IL, passed away on Sunday, August 7, 2016, at 3 a.m. in Benton IL.

Byron was born on November 4, 1957 to Charles “Dick” and Suzanne (née Stuckey) Casey in Christopher, IL. He graduated from Benton Consolidated High School in 1976. He worked for several coal mines, including Freeman Coal Co. and Amax Coal Co. Byron enjoyed swapping good jokes, cooking (and eating) savory food, and swimming in lakes and the ocean.

Byron is survived by his mother Sue Casey and stepfather Charles Casey of Benton IL; son Joshua Byron Smith and wife Lora Walsh, of Fayetteville, AR, with their son Zadok Owen and daughter Aletta Fontabel; son Alex Tyler Smith and wife Amanda, of Benton, IL, with their daughter Alivia JoAnn; daughter Anna Elizabeth Lane and husband Randy, of St. Louis, MO; brother, Scott Ralls and wife Andrea of Cordlandt Manor, NY; sister Valarie Durham of Roswell, NM; brothers Rick Casey and Randy Casey, both of Benton IL; and sister Tammy Rehbock of Romeoville, IL.

He is preceded in death by his father, Charles Richard Smith, and his stepmother, Donna Kay Smith.

In accordance with Byron’s wishes, there will be no funeral services and cremation will be held.

Arrangements entrusted to Pate Funeral Home, 301 S. Main St., Benton, IL.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 13, 2016, at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, 201 S. Main, in Benton IL.

Memorial contributions are requested to Hospice of Southern Illinois and will be accepted at the funeral home.

The guestbook may be signed at www.patefh.com

Jason Paul Bailey, 43, of Benton, IL, passed away Friday, August 5, 2016 at Franklin Hospital, in Benton.

Jason was born in Benton on March 26, 1973, the son of John T. and Sharon Rose (Holman) Bailey.

Jason dearly loved his children and family.

He is survived by three children, Gaige Bailey, Holmes Beach, FL, Madelyn Kays, of Sesser, IL and Ryder Lane Bailey, of Zeigler, IL; mother Sharon Rose Burton, of Benton; sister Beth Smith and husband Scott, of Ewing, IL; two brothers, Scott Bailey and wife Leigh Anne, of Benton and T.J. Burton, of Benton.

He was preceded in death by his father John T. Bailey.

Funeral services will be held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at Morton & Johnston Funeral Home in Benton. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to the time of the service at 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Lawanda B. (Evilsizer) Fourez, 86, of Christopher, IL, passed away on August 6, 2016.

She was born on October 15th, 1929 in Buckner, IL, to George Lucien and Goldie Mae (Shover) Evilsizer. She was united in holy matrimony to Frank “Bunny” Fourez Jr. on June 29th, 1946.

The union was blessed with seven children. Her beautiful life will forever be cherished in the lives of her children; Larry (Susie) Fourez, Rick (Yvonne) Fourez both of Christopher, IL, Randy (Debbie) Fourez of Marion, IL, Bunny Fourez of Christopher, IL, Tami (Roger) Price of Benton, IL, Rodney (Francie) Fourez, Darrin Fourez both of Christopher, IL; 14 grandchildren, Jolie (Marty) Ramsey, Larry (Gayla) Fourez Jr., Jackie Miller, Johnny (Jamie) Fourez, Eric (Stephanie) Fourez, Amy (Mike) Johnson, Cameron (Brianna) Fourez, Jamie (Troy) Randall, Christopher (Rachel) Price, Abbie Price, Meghan (Chad) Dirler, Rodney (Katie) Fourez, Jared (Alyssa) Fourez, Dylan Fourez, Zeke Fourez; 26 Great grandchildren; 4 great great grandchildren.

Lawanda also leaves a brother George Evilsizer, a sister Judy Patterson, a brother Bob (Lorain) Evilsizer, a sister Brenda (Tom) Monti, brother in law Wendell Bowlin, and one sister in law Mary Kaminski. Lawanda was preceded in death by her loving husband Frank “Bunny” Fourez Jr., her son Larry Alan Fourez, parents George Lucien and Goldie Evilsizer, 6 sisters; Doris Bowlin, Loretta Cain, twin sisters Nadine and Darlene Evilsizer, Gladys Terry, and Sharon Forgotch, one sister in law Charlotte Evilsizer and 4 brothers in law Jack Cain, Ron Terry, Sam Patterson and Julius Kaminski.

Lawanda’s wishes were to be cremated with a private graveside service. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois, and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Gerald Leo McGlasson Sr., 85, of Mulkeytown, IL, passed away August 1, 2016 at Du Quoin Rehab and Nursing.

He was born June 13, 1931 in Mulkeytown, the son of Karl McGlasson and Opal (Henson) McGlasson.

Gerald married Yvonne “Pat” Marie (Huffman) McGlasson on September 29, 1952 and she preceded him in death on July 15, 1992.

He was a retired coal miner, last working at Old Ben 26, near Sesser, IL. He was an Air Force veteran and served during the Korean War. Gerald was a member of the VFW in Christopher, the UMWA and was the unofficial mayor of Mulkeytown.

Gerald is survived by his children Michell and John Salingue, of Royalton, IL and Jerry and Wendy McGlasson, Jr., of Benton, IL; grandchidren Jennifer McClintock, of Thompsonville, IL, Melissa McGlasson, of Benton and Sara and Kenny Wilson, of Christopher; great-grandchildren Jeremy McGlasson, April McGlasson, Caleb Stowers, Mya Wilson, Noah Wilson; brother Bill and Helen McGlasson, of Du Quoin, IL and their children Bill McGlasson, Jr. and Kelly Wiggins.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at the Gilbert Funeral Home, in Christopher, with Brother Mark Miller officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until the time of the service at 1 p.m. Burial will be in Mulkeytown Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Diabetes Association and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Gilbert Funeral Home in Christopher is in charge of arrangements.

For more information go to www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com.

Norma Lucille Dame, 65, of Christopher, IL, passed away at 2:35 p.m. July 26, 2016 at Centralia Manor Nursing Home.

She was born February 23, 1951 in Olmsted, IL, the daughter of Henry Cecil Dame and Norma (Dick) Dame.

She was the treasurer for the Southern Illinois Earth Science Club.

She is survived by a son, Mike and Chandra Dame, of Sesser, IL; grandchildren Aiden Smialek and Nora Dame; brothers James David Dick, of Metropolis, IL and Christopher Hise, of Christopher; special friend Mary Hargett, of Benton, IL. She was preceded in death by her parents and one special friend Edward William Leber.

A celebration of life service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Gilbert Funeral Home, in Christopher, with Brother Jason Todd officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday, July 30 from 12 noon until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Relay for Life and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Gilbert Funeral in Christopher is in charge of arrangements. The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at Centralia Manor for the excellent car provided to Norma Lucille.

For more information go to www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com.

Marion, Illinois — Lawrence A. (Larry) Lipe formerly of Herrin, Illinois died at his home in Marion on July 26, 2016 at the age of 77.

Mr. Lipe was the former owner of Lawrence A. Lipe and Associates a civil engineering firm based in Benton, Illinois and a partner in JT Blankinship in Murphysboro, Illinois. He was responsible for the design and implementation of water distribution systems and waste water treatment facilities for a number of Cities, towns and Villages in in Southern Illinois including the Rend Lake Inner-City Water System and wastewater treatment and water distribution system for the City of Herrin. He served as the Chief Engineer for the Rend Lake Conservancy District and was the City Engineer of the City of Herrin for over 40 years.

Mr. Lipe was the son of Bernice and Lawrence Verdon Lipe of Chester, Illinois. He was born in West Frankfort, Illinois while his father was the superintendent of the Orient, Illinois elementary school. The family moved to Chester, Illinois where Mr. Lipe attended elementary and high school. He was twice inducted into the Chester High School Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 1954-55 basketball team and a member of the 1954 football team.

He attended the University of Illinois where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1961. After graduating from the Illinois he served in the United States Army and was based in Fort Lewis, Washington where he was company commander and attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant. In 1964 he joined the engineering firm of Clark Dietz in Champaign, Illinois which had been awarded the contract to lead the design of Rend Lake Inner-City Water System.

In 1966, Mr. Lipe moved to the engineering firm of Vinyard-Givenrod which was acting as the local firm enlisted to oversee the construction of Rend Lake. He became of a partner in the engineering firm with Bud Givenrod forming the firm Givenrod Lipe Inc. and in 1973, he became managing partner of the Givenrod Lipe Inc. With the acquisition Jacobs Engineering of Huntsville, Alabama the firm eventually grew to include 75 employees with offices in Missouri and Alabama and work stretching as far as Louisiana. In 1979, the firm was restructured and Lawrence A. Lipe & Associates was formed.

Through his work for the Rend Lake Conservancy District and the design of it golf course, Mr. Lipe conceived the idea of the iconic water tower featuring the golf ball on tee. In addition to dozens private engineering and surveying projects completed during his career, Mr. Lipe’s engineering projects include work for the Southern Illinois municipalities including Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort, Christopher, Johnston City, Royalton, Hurst, Bush, West City, Dowell, Norris City, Blairsville, and Colp.

Mr. Lipe married Helen Sue Wittenborn of Chester, Illinois in 1961. He lived in Herrin, Illinois for over 30 years where he raised two children, Laura of Champaign, Illinois and Steve of Chicago. In 1987 he married Diana Gail Durham (Shew) of Benton, Illinois.

He is survived by his wife Diana of Marion; sister Janet Muzos of Lake Oswego Oregon, sister-in-law Jeanne of Somersville, Florida, former wife Sue Buescher of Carbondale, children Laura Anne (John) Vavrin and Steven Andrew (Susan) Lipe, step children Michael Kent (Judy) Durham of Macedonia, Illinois and Kenneth Wade (Angela) Durham of Thomasville, Georgia, his grandchildren Sarah Jane Vavrin, William Douglas Vavrin, Coco Reilly Lipe, and Scarlett Helen Lipe and his step-grandchildren Mary Grayson Durham and Catherine (Cassie) Caroline Durham.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Leonard Verdon Lipe (Jeanne), and his grandson, Jasper Lawrence Lipe.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 29, 2016 at the Leffler Funeral Home of Benton, with Pastor Michael Neubert officiating. Burial will be in the Elder S.M. Williams Cemetery near Ewing. Visitation will be at the Leffler Funeral Home from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the United Leukodystrophy Foundation, and will be accepted at the funeral home.

To leave online condolences to the family or to share memories of Larry, visit www.lpfuneralhome.com