Witt, Helen W.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: WITT.H001
• _FGRAVE: 61693132
• Funeral: Summers-Kistler Funeral Home, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois
• Census: 8 Apr 1940, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois; 1940 Census, Clay City (Village), Clay County, Illinois, page 05a

Notes:

Helen W. Shafer, 91, of Clay City, died at Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney April 23, 2005.

Mrs. Shafer was born September 24, 1913, in Olney, the daughter of Mike Frank and Velda May Moore Witt. She married Virgil Shafer July 21, 1934 in Joliet. He preceded her in death August 3, 1993.

She was a retired school teacher and member of Clay City Christian Church. She loved teaching phonics and children with special needs.

Survivors include a daughter, JoAnn Poorman; two sons, Bill and Jim Shafer; 8 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and 4 great-great-grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were her parents, husband, and a brother, Mike Witt.

Funeral services were held at Summers-Kistler Funeral Home in Clay City with burial in Crest Haven Cemetery in rural Claremont.

Memorials to the Clay City Christian Church or Richland Memorial Hospital Long Term Care in Olney.

(Published Hometown Journal)

Died:
Helen W. Shafer, 91, of Clay City, died at Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney April 23, 2005.

Helen married Shafer, Virgil D. on 21 Jul 1934 in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. Virgil (son of Shafer, Vonda and Fisher, Sarah Jane) was born on 8 Apr 1913; died on 3 Aug 1993 in Clay City, Clay County, Illinois; was buried in Crest Haven Memorial Park, Claremont, Richland County, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Poorman, J.R.J.. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reference Number: SHAF.W003
• _FGRAVE: 136745734
• Military Service: United States Navy

Notes:

William "Bill" Shafer, 73, of Vancouver, Washington, passed away on October 2, 2014, with his family by his side.

Bill was born in Effingham, Illinois to Virgil and Helen (Witt) Shafer on March 29, 1941.

After graduating from Clay City High School in 1959, he attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana on a Navy ROTC scholarship. In June of 1963, he was commissioned as a Naval Officer, graduated from U of I with a BS in Mathematics, and married Emily (Amy) Thompson all in one weekend.

He served on the USS Amberjack from 1963-1965. After graduating from Nuclear Submarine School in 1966, Bill served on a nuclear submarine, the USS John Adams. In 1968, he resigned from the Navy to spend more time with his family and began his career in the telecommunications industry at Illinois Bell and then Pacific Telecom.

Bill was an avid Seahawks, UW Huskies, and Illini football fan and enjoyed spending weekends traveling to games with family and friends.

Bill leaves behind his wife of 51 years, Amy Shafer; daughter, Sondra Smith of Seattle; son, Michael Shafer and wife Kim of Bellevue; daughter-in-law, Leah Shafer of Vancouver; 4 grandchildren, Madison, Zach, Carson, and Kayla; sister, Joanne Poorman of Vincennes, Indiana; brother, Jim Shafer of Bourbonnais, Illinois; and many loving nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Virgil and Helen Shafer; and his son, Tom Shafer.

A memorial service will be held at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, 1101 NE 112th Ave., Vancouver, WA on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 4:00p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to
American Diabetes Association
at 1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2283).

Please sign his Guest Book at www.columbian.com/obits.
Funeral Home

Family/Spouse: Thompson, Emily 'Amy'. Emily was born on 1 Aug 1940 in Geneva, Kane County, Illinois; died on 1 Sep 2020 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]