Jo Gilbert Loomis

MARION - Jo G. Loomis II passed away peacefully at 3:45 pm Saturday, June 18, 2011 at St. John’s Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Jo was born December 7, 1927 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Martha (Mendenhall) and Jo G. Loomis, Sr. He married Marilyn Johnson on May 7, 1949 in Chicago; together, they shared 62 years of marriage. Marilyn survives and lives in Marion. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 21 from 5 – 8 pm at Blue Funeral Home in Marion. Services will be at 11 am on Wednesday, June 22 at the Lake of Egypt Christian Church with Pastor Leroy Waggoner officiating. Graveside burial with military rites will be at 2 pm, Wednesday, June 22 at the Alto Pass Cemetery. Memorials can be made to the Little Egypt Art Association and Lake of Egypt Christian Church. Envelopes are available at the funeral home or may be sent C/O Blue Funeral Home, P.O. Box 411, Marion, IL, 62959. Survivors include his wife Marilyn Loomis, daughters Janet Barton (Rick), Debra Tayes (Lee), Cathy Loomis; two sons Carey Loomis and Tom Loomis (Vicki), four grandchildren Ashley Workman (Eric), Bryan Barton (Ashley), Christopher Barton, and Skyler Loomis; three great-grandchildren Grayden Workman, Addelyn Frances Workman, and Layla Barton; one brother Hank Loomis and one sister Nancy LoBue. He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Jo. G. Loomis III. Jo was a member of the Lake of Egypt Christian Church. He honorably served his country in WWII enlisting in the Navy at the age of 17 afterwards serving in the US Army and US Air Force. He retired from Berry Bearing Company in 1989 in Chicago after 35 years. He trained at the Illinois Institute of Technology as a mechanical engineer. Jo was a founding member of the Little Egypt Art Association, Marion Main Street and Veterans on Parade. He loved his family dearly, spending the ‘best years of his life’ raising his six children to follow their dreams. He loved camping, backpacking, golfing, painting, and touring the USA, history, and humor having a larger than life personality. He will be missed and honored by his family forever.