Obituaries

Elaine Schaefer Elaine Schaefer passed away peacefully, at age 101, at Westminster Village in Bloomington, Illinois, on Monday, April 17, 2023, where she had lived since 2017. She was born Elaine Mary Radel, in Spring Green, to Stella (Jones) and LeRoy Radel on November 5, 1921. Elaine was raised on the family farm and was the third of nine siblings… Lloyd, Avalyn, Elaine, Joyce, Joann, Marlyn, Duane, Eloise, and Loraine. She always said the greatest gift her parents gave her was her brothers and sisters. She met the love of her life and future husband, Stanley Schaefer, at a weekend dance in 1937. Elaine and Stan were married on September 18, 1943. They began married life in Madison. Stan’s job promotions moved the family to Prairie du Chien, Whitewater, and Middleton. and then Normal, Illinois, in 1966. In Normal, close friends allowed Elaine to indulge in two of her talents… cooking and entertaining. Stan passed in 2002 and she comforted herself knowing she would be reunited with him in heaven. Elaine had a sense of humor and enjoyed telling people she expected to live forever because the obituaries seldom show anyone 100 years old dying. Elaine is survived by her sons: Randall (Judy), Hastings, Michigan, and Terrence (Linda) Bloomington, Illinois; sisters, Eloise Nicholson (Bill) Wisconsin Rapids and Loraine Feiner, Sun Prairie; and sisters-in-law Monica Radel, Spring Green, and Elizabeth (Liz) Radel, Spring Green. Elaine had five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild born eight days before she passed. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Normal, Illinois. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Blackhawk Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Blackhawk, on Saturday May 6, 2023.  The burial will be in Blackhawk Cemetery.  Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington is handling arrangements.  Online condolences may be left at www.calvertmemorial.comMemorials can be sent to the charity of your choice in celebration of a life well lived.