Date of Birth
Nov 28,1928
Date of Death
Nov 26,2015
Evelyn Louise (Tatters) Whildin, age 86, of Byron Il, formerly of Hawaii, Washington DC, Miami, Plano, IL and Elburn, area passed away Thursday November 26, 2015 at Heritage Woods Assisted Living Center surrounded by the love and prayers of her caring family
She was born November 28, 1928 in Honolulu, HI, (before it was an official state) the daughter of William and Evelyn (Stone) Tatters.
Evelyn’s father was a career man with the United States Navy and stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and continued to reside there for five years before Bill’s duty to his country required him and his family to move to Washington DC, and later Miami, FL, before they divorced. Evelyn, nicknamed Honey by her father, settled with her mother in Plano, IL for her early grade school years.
She attended school in Plano and graduated from Plano High School in 1946 where she was a member of the Plano Wildcat marching band playing the French horn. Shortly after graduation, she met the love of her life, George Whildin, while both here enjoying a hobby they both shared, roller skating. This romance bloomed rather quickly and these two sweethearts made life long vows to one another on April 3, 1948 in Plano.
They began their new life as husband and wife in Sugar Grove. George was farming with his father when Evelyn gave birth to their first two sons George III, in 1949 and Mike 1950. A few years later, they moved to Elburn where George and Evelyn were tenant farmers and running their own operation. While living in Elburn Evelyn gave birth to two daughters Wendy in 1953 and Debra in 1955. Shortly after Debra’s birth the family moved back to Sugar Grove in order to tend to a larger farm and take on greater responsibilities. It was there that the family was made complete when Evelyn gave birth to their fifth child Andy in 1960. In March of 1963, the family moved again, this time to Burlington, IL where George worked as a famer and switched into a new career as a truck driver, while Evelyn took a job doing clerical work for Mercury Acceptance Corp. in Sycamore, IL. From this point, the family moved to a more permanent residence as they purchased their first family home in Maple Park. Here, George continued his career as a truck driver and Evelyn began reading water meters in Maple Park. It was a job she thoroughly enjoyed for it gave her the opportunity to go house to house and socialize with her neighbors. They lived in Maple Park for 27 years before George retired in 1997. The couple then moved to their final home in Byron, IL so George could fish the Rock River. Although it may not have been her destination of choice, but it was important for Evelyn to support her husband (and his hobbies) in this venture.
Evelyn was a member of American Legion Auxiliary in Elburn and Maple Park where she served as a past president. Evelyn and her family were members of Kaneville United Methodist Church, but also Burlington Methodist Church. She most recently attended The Red Brick Congregation Christian Church of Stillman Valley.
One of the first things those who loved Evelyn would say was how incredibly Evelyn had honed her skills in the kitchen. She is such a great cook that she could even make liver and onions “tasty” enough for those who would normally eat just about anything but. One of everyone’s favorite dishes was her excellent German potato salad and for dessert, nobody could top her sour cream chocolate cake. Evelyn loved cooking and feeding her family so much that she often made more than enough for everybody, even those who unexpected guests. She was very skilled with her knitting needles and made sweaters for all the adults of the family and especially enjoyed knitting sweaters and blankets for her various grandchildren and great grandchildren. She would go on occasional “over the road” trips with George and loved to bring her knitting needles along for the trip. Evelyn was an animal lover who had a place in her heart for small animals. Over the years, she had a number of family dogs, though in recent times, she was “converted” cat lover, enjoying the company of her feline friends following George’s passing in 2007.
She was survived by two sons: George Whildin III and Mike (Bonnie) Whildin; Two Daughters: Wendy (Don) Collins and Debra Holman; 9 grandchildren: Don, Susan, Jaime Vermaat, Amy (Ken) Collins, Ron (Kerri) Collins, Becky (Tim) Landmeier, Jacob (Rebecca) Whildin, Thad (Sue) Whildin, Shane (Jenny) Whildin; 14 Great- Grandchildren and family of friends;
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 58 years George Whildin and her youngest son Andrew.
Visitation will be from 12-1 p.m., with a memorial service to follow at 1 p.m., Sunday, December 13, 2015 at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL 60119. Private family interment will take place at a later date at Sugar Grove Cemetery.
In Lieu of flowers memorials may be made directly to The Red Brick Congregation Christian Church of Stillman Valley, 217 W Roosevelt St, Stillman Valley, IL 61084. Tributes may also be made on the Conley Funeral Home Facebook page or visit us on the web at www.conleycare.com. Arrangements were handled with care by Conley Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from 12-1 p.m., with a memorial service to follow at 1 p.m., Sunday, December 13, 2015 at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL 60119. Private family interment will take place at a later date at Sugar Grove Cemetery
Visitation will be from 12-1 p.m., with a memorial service to follow at 1 p.m., Sunday, December 13, 2015 at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL 60119. Private family interment will take place at a later date at Sugar Grove Cemetery