DANA — Robert Henry Thies, 81, passed away  Wednesday (Feb. 24, 2010) at Heartland Manor Care in Normal, while recuperating from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident in January.

His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, with the Rev. Michael Jones officiating. Burial will follow in Rutland Cemetery, Rutland. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Calvert & Froelich Memorial Home, Toluca, and for one hour prior to services Monday at the church. Memorials may be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca; Good Samaritan Home, Flanagan; or Rutland Cemetery Association.

Robert was born at home (rural Dana) on Jan. 6, 1929, son of Henry and Ida Witte Thies. He attended Country School and graduated from Dana High School in 1947. He served his country in the Army; and, while stationed in Oklahoma, he specialized in weather balloons and meteorology for several years. He farmed his entire adult life in rural Dana. In 2007 he was honored with the Centennial Farm Award. For 25 years, he enjoyed being a sales representative for Pioneer Hi-Bred.

Robert was a community leader and friend to all. As service to the community, he was the Groveland Township supervisor from 1977 to 2005. He was an original founding fireman of the Dana Volunteer Fire Department,  serving also as a first responder and later as treasurer. He spent 30 years on the board of Farm Bureau, participating as an Illinois delegate to Farm Bureau conventions and as LaSalle County delegate of farmers to Washington, D.C. He served many years on the board of the Rutland Cemetery Association and on the board of the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Flanagan, later as president. He was a lifelong member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Toluca, and participated in church council and Men in Mission.

His interests included target shooting with the Dana Rifle Club, puzzles, swimming, growing popcorn/sweet corn and socializing with family and friends. He was a loving husband and father and he will be missed by all.

He married Patricia “Patsy” Peters on Aug. 2, 1953, in LaSalle. She passed away April 15, 1994. On Oct. 19, 1996, he married Grace “Darlene” Smith. She passed away Jan. 20, 2010.

He is survived by his children, Mary Hazlitt, Waverly, Iowa, (fiancé Dennis Conaway); Bruce Thies, Ottawa; Ronald Thies, Toluca; and Mark (Lee Ann) Thies, Urbana; stepchildren, Nancy Williams, Normal, and Sandra Grubar (George Koch), Utica; grandchildren, David (Samantha) Thies, Anchorage, Alaska, and Jennifer Thies, Columbia, Mo.; stepgrandchildren, Molly Dunlea and Kerry Dunlea, Chicago; great-grandchild, Gracelyn Thies, Anchorage, Alaska; sister-in-law, Virginia Thies, Toledo, Ohio; and nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces and great-great nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wives; his parents; sister, Dorothy Barnhart; brothers, Walter, Howard, Gilbert and Wilfred “Denny”; nephews, James Thies and Donald Thies; and son-in-law, Dick Hazlitt.