Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook
A memorial service for Ida Elaine E. Smith was held Dec. 16, 2024, at Edwardsville St. Johns UMC with Rev. Grant Armstrong officiating. A Celebration of Life, celebrating the lives of Elaine and Robert R. Smith followed at the church.
James Albert Till 1949-2024 The Rev. James Albert Till, 75, a retired deacon in full connection, died Aug. 3, 2024, at his home in Champaign. He was born April 15, 1949 in Pollock, La., a son of Charles Herschel and Dorothy Emma (Walker) Till. It was here that the foundations were laid for his faith, and for his love of music and the outdoors. Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Louisiana College in
Alexandria, La., where he studied music and theology. He then moved to Dallas, Texas to attend Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, where he earned his Master’s of Sacred Music degree. What began as a chance meeting at a Dallas piano bar, quickly flourished into love with his future wife, Marie Lorraine Rybicki. They wed in 1975 and were married for nearly 49 years. Marie was his best friend, life and travel partner, and, in later years, his caregiver and steadfast health advocate. Before his retirement in 2014, Jim served for 30 years as Minister of Music and Worship at Champaign: First UMC, where his quiet, motivating and precise style of conducting brought the joy of music and worship to hundreds of choir members and parishioners, touching countless lives. Jim’s service as a United Methodist Minister of Music took him to churches in Dallas, Texas, Metairie, La. and Kissimmee, Fla. He also served a term leading the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. Jim was gentle, compassionate, calm and devoted as a husband, father, musician and leader. He loved to travel, be outdoors, watch the Chicago Cubs, attend live music perfor- mances, and spend time with his family. He showed bravery and optimism in the face of an earlier prostate cancer diagnosis and kept a positive attitude despite his struggles with Parkinson’s. He was an adoring father and loved his girls immensely. Survivors include his beloved wife, Marie; two daughters, Audrey (Brian) Carl and Leslie (Matt) Doyle; a dear grandson, Atlas Doyle; a brother, Charles “Sonny” Till; and sisters, Dottie Sue Hillis and Emma Jane Till; and scores of lifelong friends from each chapter of his and Marie’s lives. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, and three brothers, Hugh, Tommy, and Alan Till. A service celebrating the life of the Rev. James Till was held Sept. 7, 2024, at Champaign: First UMC.
Mildred Rowena Tindle 1932-2025 Mildred Rowena Tindle, 92, the widow of the Rev. Charles H. Tindle, died April 24, 2025 in Benton. Mildred was born Sept. 15, 1932, in Jefferson County, Illinois, a daughter of Arthur McKinley and Alma Frances Millner Byard. She marred Rev. Charles “Chuck” Howard Tindle on Dec. 25, 1951, in Mt. Vernon. He died Nov. 27, 2009.
272 Memoirs
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