James W. “Jim” Chapman, 80, of Urbana, died Feb. 1 at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. He worked for many years as a plumber for the university and retired in 1995. A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana. Pastor Raymond Gordon will officiate. A visitation will be at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory from 10 to 11 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Olive Cemetery, Mayview, Illinois. Memorials: Toast of Champaign Sweet Adelines, c/o Jan Weber, 503 S. Willis Ave., Champaign, IL 61821.
Willeta Mae Hassell Donaldson, 78, of Urbana, died Feb. 2 at her home. She began working in the university’s Office of Admissions and Records in 1958, retiring as the assistant to the director of admissions in 1995. She went back to work part time in 1997 for the director of development at the School of Social Work at Illinois, retiring in 2004. She was instrumental in the integration of Urbana schools, the first in the state of Illinois. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 1301 N. Sixth St., Champaign, with Pastor Rickey E. Parks officiating. Visitation will be Friday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Lincoln Memorial Gardens.
Elizabeth Fumiko Fujioka Easley, 92, of Urbana, died Feb. 1 at Amber Glen Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Urbana.She worked as a secretary at the university in multiple departments, including general studies, botany and organic chemistry. Together with her husband, Jack Easley, a professor of math and science education at Illinois,she wrote a book and multiple scholarly articles focusing on techniques used in teaching mathematics in Japanese elementary schools. She also played a key role as a translator and interpreter in this research. She learned Braille and used her skills to transcribe texts for university students with vision impairment. A visitation and a memorial service will be held Saturday, March 16, at Community United Church of Christ, 805 S. Sixth St., Champaign. The visitation will begin at noon. The memorial service at 2 p.m. will be followed by a reception. The Rev. Leah Robbert-Mosser will officiate. Memorials: Spring Initiative, P.O. Box 1759, Clarksdale, MS 38614 or Family Service of Champaign County, 405 S. State St., Champaign, IL 61820.
Barclay George Jones, 87, of Urbana, died Jan. 27. He was a professor emeritus of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the university, where he began work in 1966. Among his contributions were the development of experimental apparatuses to look at the behavior of suspended particles in turbulent pipe flow and the development of an instrument measuring local fluctuating static pressure. He also led the design of the reactor coolant system for the university’s Advanced TRIGA Mark II Reactor. He served as the associate chair of the Nuclear Engineering Program from 1981-86 and was acting head of the newly formed Nuclear Engineering Department for a year, then became permanent department head for 13 years. A celebration of his life will be held later this year.Memorials: Barclay G. Jones Endowment in Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering Fund at uif.uillinois.edu, 217-649-2624 or to Developmental Services Center Workshop at dsc-illinois.org, 217-356-9176.
Margaret “Eileen” Lyons, 95, of Urbana, died Feb. 3 at Amber Glen Special Care Center in Urbana. She retired in 1979 as the senior library clerk at the university after 36 years of employment. A visitation is scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign. The funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Deborah Owen officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Urbana.
Shirley Ann Perkins, 88, of Mahomet, Illinois, died Feb. 2 at Farmer City Rehab and Health Care in Farmer City, Illinois. She retired from the university. A memorial is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Mansfield Fire Department in Mansfield, Illinois.