Alan L. Heider

 Alan L. “Al” Heider, 83, of Streator passed away peacefully Sunday, November 19, 2023, at OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home in Peoria.

  Visitation will be from 9:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. Friday, November 24th at the Solon-Telford Funeral Home in Streator.

  Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:30 A.M. Friday, November 24th at St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church in Streator.

  Burial will follow at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Lostant, with full military rites. Pallbearers will be sons Scott, Todd, and Corey Heider, grandson Nathaniel Heider, and godchildren Cary Brierly, Larry Smaling, and Karen Johnson.

  Born December 16, 1939, in La Salle, Al was the 10th and youngest child of Henry and Louise (Arenz) Heider. He married Joyce Mertes June 18, 1966, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Lostant. She preceded him in death August 22, 2022.

  He is survived by sons, Scott (Ann) Heider of Liberty, Missouri, Todd Heider of Imperial, Missouri, and Corey Heider of Olathe, Kansas; grandchildren, Nathaniel and Katherine “Katie” Heider of Liberty, Missouri; and two sisters, Joan Henderson of Geneseo and Donna Smaling of Bloomington, as well as numerous nephews and nieces.

  He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Joyce; brothers, Richard, Roy, Russell, and Eugene Heider; and sisters, Doris Barr, Janette Strode, and Maxine Brierly.

  He attended Saints Peter and Paul Parochial School in Leonore and graduated from Lostant High School in 1957.

  He was a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Streator.

  Al worked at Owens-Illinois in Streator for 45 years, retiring in 2002.

He served in the US Army from 1963 to 1965 as a teletype operator with the 21st Signal Company at Fort Darby in Livorno, Italy.

  He was a lifetime member of American Legion Post 173 in Lostant, and Knights of Columbus Council 790 in Streator. He was also a former member of the Sandy Ford Sportsman Club, and a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan.

  Memorials may be directed to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at https://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/AlanHeider or to St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Streator.

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