Condolences for Delores Pourchot

Deloris Ellis Pourchot died Friday and her funeral will be today (April 15) in Havana, IL. 

“Dee” as many of us called her, served as NEAFCS President in 1983. 

The photo is of Dee and Mary Ann Fugate in 1983.  Dee is cutting the ribbon to the 1983 Annual Session Exhibit Hall  in Atlanta, Georgia and Mary Ann was the Exhibit’s chairman.  To the left of Dee is President-elect, Charlotte Young and to the right of Mary Ann is Ed Long, Exhibit’s Co-Chair. 

This is Dee’s obituary:

Deloris J. Pourchot, 74, of Lincoln, Illinois, passed away at Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, at 9:30 am on Thursday, April 11, 2013. She was born September 25, 1938 in Peoria to Ralph and Marie (Blakeley) Gregory.

She married Leonard Pourchot on October 3, 1992 in Peoria and he preceded her in death on March 7, 2013. She is survived by two step-sons, Doug (Barbara) Ellis of Latham, IL and Roger Ellis of California. She is also survived by two sisters, Darlene Urish of Easton, IL and Diane (Ron) Ebken of Kilbourne, IL and three step-grandchildren, Susan, Janet and Wesley Ellis.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and brother, Ralph Gregory.

She was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lincoln. She was also a member of the League of Women Voters, was President of the Coalition of Women Church Members, served as President of National Association of Retired Federal Employees and President of National Association of Extension Home Economists. She worked for the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Illinois and at Virginia Tech for 36 years.

Services will be held on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 11:00 am at Hurley Funeral Home in Havana, IL with Pastor Brian Lesemann officiating. Visitation will be held at 10:00 am. Burial will follow services at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Immanuel Lutheran Church or St. John‘s Lutheran Church. Online messages may be left for the family at www.hurleyfh.com. Hurley Funeral Home in Havana is in charge of arrangements.

Delores Ellis Pourchot - 1983 NEAFCS President

Member Update

Cammy Seguin has grandkids in Virginia and Maryland, so that makes for travel opportunities. She also really enjoyed the Natchez trip.

She was able to burn her mortgage during the past year. Cammy also likes to attend plays and musicals.

In addition, she volunteers for her church and the local food pantry.

Spring is Here!

Spring has finally made it to southern Illinois! Hope you are enjoying the beautiful blooms.

Member Update

Carol Schlitt is a very busy lady!

She has established her own business, Safe and Savory Solutions. She still teaches many workshops and classes in the areas of nutrition, food preparation, and food safety. Her expertise provides a valuable resource since there are no Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educators in southern Illinois.

During 2012 Carol served IEAFCS as Awards Chair until the office could be filled. She also provided leadership to the Futuring Committee that helped make recommendations for future operations.

Carol is our official IEAFCS trip coordinator. We have had a wonderful trip for the past two years, and another is set for fall to Mackinac Island.The bus is already full!

In addition to that she has traveled to Washington DC and attended NEAFCS in Columbus, Ohio during the past year. And she and  Donna Falconnier visited Peru this winter.

Carol has also been successful in losing quite a lot of weight. Looking good Carol! Thanks for all you do for our organization.

Southern Region Meets at Rend Lake

Southern Region Retirees met recently at Rend Lake College for a tour of their Culinary Department. It provides career opportunities to many local students, and is one of the better ones in this part of the state.

Our thanks to Chef Robert Wilson who gave us the tour and shared much interesting information.

Pictured are Joy Richey, Martha Winter, Milly Kaiser, Martha Speir, Joyce Pyatt, Kathy Harrison, Carol Schlitt, Donna Whitlock Rumsey, Chef Wilson, and Rusti Grogan.

Shirley Martin also joined the group for lunch, and it was good catching up with her.

Most have likely seen the note from Carol Schlitt that the bus trip for September is full. Looking forward to a great time!

Member Update

Paula Robinson was looking forward to being a grandmother again.

She has also done some consulting with Catholic Charities on grants, etc.

Paula is part of a group that gets together the first Friday of the month in Springfield. Jananne Finck, Diane Duewer, Judy Taylor, Diane Ryals, Linda Smith and others enjoy catching up when they can. I'm sure I also missed some members of this group. Let me know if there are others.

Good News--For Now

This little bird was just outside our house last week looking for something to eat. Hope to see the end of winter soon!

Here is a note from NARFE about whether the Sequester of funds will affect retirement annuities.

Since President Obama issued the sequester order on March 1, many NARFE members have contacted Headquarters about the impact this will have on their retirement payments. NARFE President Joseph A. Beaudoin has stated: “To the best of my knowledge, there will be no impact on the issuance of annuity payments. According to the Office of Personnel Management, ‘Sequestration will not stop delivery of FERS and CSRS annuity checks. These monthly retirement benefits checks will continue to be issued.’” The NARFE “SequestrationFAQs,” available on the NARFE website, will be updated with information as it becomes available to us. You can access it directly by visiting: http://www.narfe.org/home/articles.cfm?ID=3229.