Byron A. Webster Obituary (1929

Byron "Ben" A. Webster of Bloomington, Illinois died on February 20, 2020 at the age of 90 in Normal. There will be a memorial service at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bloomington on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 2 pm. Visitation will be at the church beginning at 1 pm. Reverend Billy Newell will officiate. A memorial service and the scattering of his ashes will be held in Goodman, Wisconsin on April 26, 2020, Byron's 91st birthday. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Byron be honored with the planting of a tree, especially apple trees, or donations to the National Parks Service. Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington is handling arrangements. Byron was born in Goodman, Wisconsin on April 26, 1929 to Jerome & Mabel Webster. For 43 years, Ben, as he was known by friends and co-workers, worked for the Milwaukee Railroad in Milwaukee, St. Paul/Minneapolis, Bensenville/Chicago terminals, and for the DRI Line RR in the Quad Cities, retiring 1991 as their General Manager/CEO. In addition to being a railroad officer, he was activity in the Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and Davenport Beautification Committee. He enjoyed fishing, playing golf, gardening, and bird watching. But his passions were in sports and arts. At Goodman High, he exceled in football, basketball, boxing, and track (including earning a track college scholarship). After graduation he continued to boxing as an amateur and played league softball until he was 47 pitching and hitting homeruns. Come the weekend, he was rooting the Badgers, Packers, Bucks, and Milwaukee Braves and Brewers. To relax, he painted landscapes (some of which are in the Goodman Historical Society) and sketched humorous caricatures. Byron is survived by his daughter Judith of Bloomington, Illinois, goddaughter Connie (Wolf) Koche of Milwaukee, godson Delmar Kluball of Tomah, Wisconsin, in addition to 21 nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn Jane (Hills), his daughter Kathleen Denice, siblings Jerome Lenard, Blanche, Margaret, Orda Mae, and the twins Beulah and Bethel. Per his wishes, Byron was cremated with his ashes to be scattered in his beloved woods of northern Wisconsin.