DeWayne E. Bess Sr. Obituary (1957 - 2018)

DeWayne E. Bess Sr., 61, of Normal, passed away at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, December 16, 2018 at his home. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday, December 21, 2018 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Bloomington, with Rev. Gregory Nelson officiating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, December 20, 2018 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington. Memorials may be made to St. Mary's Catholic Church or to the Mayo Clinic. He was born October 8, 1957 in Bloomington, a son of Roland and Juanita Bagwell Bess. He married Cathy Jo Pennypacker Schultz on July 1, 1989. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Cathy Jo of Normal; five children, Shanann (Javier) Martinez of Colorado, D.J. Bess of Illinois, Dawn (Steve) Bair of Normal, Erica (Jeff) Martin of Tennessee and Brian (Maureen) Schultz of Normal; 10 grandchildren, Kegan, Annie, Mackenzie, Caleb, Nolan, Colleen, Brenden, Noah, Lily and Mila; his father, Roland (Elizabeth) Bess of Bloomington; a brother, Michael (Joyce) Bess of Kappa; one nephew; several cousins; and many friends. Waiting for him in Heaven were his mother; a sister, Jackie Bess; and his in-laws, Jerry and Marilyn Pennypacker. DeWayne attended Bloomington and El Paso schools. He worked for many years at Eureka and later worked as a self-employed contractor. Earlier in his life he was a volunteer firefighter for Bloomington Township. DeWayne enjoyed playing guitar, riding his Harley, cheering on the Chicago Bears, Cubs and, occasionally, the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of DeWyane's greatest joys was being Pop Pop to his grandchildren. The family wishes to thank his doctors and their staff, especially Dr. Richard Ginnetti, for their care and compassion.