| Notes |
- Obit: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/obituaries/theodore-sommer/article_9a900d4b-250b-5af9-bb84-bbabc421d00e.html#utm_source=[domain]&utm_campaign=%2Femail-updates%2Fobits%2F&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
PEKIN — Theodore “Ted” Sommer, 95, of Pekin, passed away at 10:22 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 2, 2016) at his home.
He was born March 11, 1920, in Pekin, to Oscar “O.J.” and Norah Lambert Sommer. He married Josephine “Jo” Conrad on Sept. 26, 1943, in Wooster, Ohio. She survives.
Surviving also are one son, Jim (Susan) Sommer, Tremont; two daughters, Barbara (Jim) Wieferich, Marietta, Ohio, and Judy (Dan) Thiessen, Monument, Colo.; 13 grandchildren, Laura Sommer Saal; Christine Papenhause; Mark, Jeremy and Joel Sommer; April Nicol; Katie, Scott, Matthew and Mark Wieferich; Sarah Thiessen Holsopple; and David and Greg Thiessen; one brother, Dr. John (Donna) Sommer, Palo Alta, Calif.; and one sister, Lois Sommer Kreider, North Newton, Kan.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Steven Sommer; and one granddaughter, Maria Wieferich.
Ted attended Bluffton College (Ohio) and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1942, with a bachelor of science in agriculture.
He served in the Civilian Public Service as dairy tester in Pennsylvania from 1942 to 1945.
He spent his entire business career at Sommer Bros. Seed Co., Pekin, where he served as president from 1951 through 1993, retiring in 2006.
Ted was a former member of Bethel Mennonite Church, Pekin, where he served as Sunday school teacher and on the board of trustees. He was a member of First Mennonite Church in Morton.
He was a member of the Pekin Kiwanis Club, and served on the boards of the Illinois Seed Dealers Association; Illinois Foundation Seeds Inc.; Golden Harvest Seeds Inc.; Mennonite Hospital, Bloomington; Bluffton College (Ohio); Mennonite Economic Development Associates; and the Everett Dirksen Library, Pekin.
He was a member of the Evangelaires Quartet for many years. He loved gardening and working with flowers. He was an avid collector of antique corn items, including many hand corn planters and grass seeders.
His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Mennonite Church, Morton. The Revs. Aaron Yoder and Maurice Yordy will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Davis-Oswald Funeral Home, Tremont. Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery, Pekin.
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Also, see IMH Newsletter, Winter 2016, page 6.
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1920 - 2015 (94 years)
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