Donald Saunders

Donald "Duke" Saunders GOREVILLE-Donald "Duke" Saunders, 87, of Goreville passed away at 3:00 AM, Sunday, December 6, 2009 at his home surrounded by is family. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, December 10, 2009 at Blue Funeral Home in Goreville with Dr. Ron Ferguson officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at the funeral home. Burial will be at Cana Cemetery in Goreville. Military rites will be held at the cemetery by VFW Post 1301, American Legion Post 147 and the National Guard. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois; envelopes are available at the funeral home or may be sent c/o Blue Funeral Home, PO Box 411, Marion, IL 62959. Duke was born October 3, 1922 in Gallipolis, Ohio to Tenny and Lillian (Raines) Saunders. He married LaWanda Lee Hubbard on November 22, 1979 in Goreville; she preceded him in death on March 11, 2004. Survivors include a son, James C. Henderson; two grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Robert Aiken; nieces and nephews, Libby and Tim Coffey, Charles and Laurie Howard, Rex and Mildred Howard, Chester and Dorothy Howard, Janie and Ron Snyder and Luther Howard; great nieces and nephews, Timmy, D.J., Ashley, David, Charles, Conner, Allyssa, Rex, Jr., Chris, Tony and Jennifer; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Racheal Saunders and Shirley and Roger Russell. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; a brother; a sister; a brother-in-law; and his mother-in-law. Duke grew up on his parent’s farm and worked as a farmhand. He served his country with the United States Army during World War II as a Staff Sergeant for the 29th Infantry Division. Seeing active duty on December 4, 1942 and after an injury he was honorably discharged on December 15, 1945. Duke moved to Wheeling, Illinois and worked at Conex, where he met and married his wife. They both worked together until Duke retired. They then moved to Goreville to be close to family. Duke enjoyed fishing, hunting and watching Nascar, especially when he would beat his friend Joni. He was a member of the Marion VFW Post 1301, where he was an active member of the ritual team until he could no longer participate because of his health. He enjoyed meeting his friends at the post every Sunday and he worked turkey and duck shoot matches. He was also a member of the Marion American Legion Post 147.