John Reed Roesler

OUT OF CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES, THOSE MOST AT RISK, AND THE NEED OF OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE THAT WAS SCHEDULED FOR JOHN HAS BEEN POSTPONED. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO THE GROWING SPREAD OF THE COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) PANDEMIC.   

PEORIA - After leading an exemplary life as an honest man, John Reed Roesler died on Friday, February 21, 2020, at the age of 92, leaving Mollie (Bence), his wife of 69 years, his three children, Reed (Pam), Erin (Brennan, Jim) and Calie (Zawadzke, Jerry), along with seven grandchildren, to grieve the loss. 

Born in 1927 in Pontiac, Illinois, he turned 18 on March 28, 1945, dropped out of high school, enlisted in the Navy and shipped off to the Philippines to aid the Allied effort in WWII. He was one of the thousands of American lives amassed for the invasion of Japan saved by the awful carnage wrought by the second drop of an atomic bomb.    

A graduate of Carthage College and Millikin University, he joined IBM, where he remained for his entire 39-year career, rising from the ranks of a typewriter salesman to that of a corporate Vice President. His career was threatened early-on by a farm accident that resulted in the loss of his left ring finger, leaving him to ply his trade as a 9-fingered typewriter salesman in the 1950's. No easy task.  

He served on the boards of several Peoria-area social service agencies, including those assisting victims of domestic violence, at-risk youth, the homeless, and persons with physical or mental health needs. 

​A celebration of his life is cheduled for 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM at the Country Club of Peoria, 4700 N. Grandview Drive, in Peoria Heights on Saturday, March 28, 2020, which would have been his 93rd birthday.  If you have a memory of him you would be willing to share with those in attendance, please plan to do so. Also, memories may be left for his family at www.masonfuneralhomes.com. Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington is assisting the family with arrangements.

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