Juanita K. McCollum

Juanita K. McCollum, 93, of Washington, passed away at 1:31 am Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at Snyder Village in Metamora. She was born December 19, 1921 in Douglas County, IL to Thomas and Ollie Mae Russell Sievers. She married Donald B. McCollum on August 3, 1946 in Sullivan, IL. He preceded her in death in 1993. She was also preceded in death by her parents; brother, Russell; and sister, Betty Myers. Surviving are four children, Marcia (Lee) Clark of Nixa, MO, Donald (Debbie) McCollum of Washington, Brad (Gloria) McCollum of Cordova, TN, Cindy (Jim) Patterson of Groveland; 5 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; and brother, Ted (Alma) Sievers of PA. Juanita loved to sew and worked as the manager of the fabric department at Ben Franklin before retiring. The following is adapted from the original text written by Joyce Nordheilm for the May 2002 edition of the Washington Christian Church publication -- The Christian Messenger. Juanita McCollum was born to Thomas and Ollie Mae Sievers on December 18, 1921 in Douglas County, Illinois. She was the second of four children and the oldest daughter. Her family members were farmers. She graduated from Atwood High School in 1940 and immediately started beauty school, from which she graduated in 1941. Before she could start using her new skill, the war changed the labor picture. Women were pressed into rolls, which were previously held by men. She moved to Cleveland to live with an uncle and to work in a factory where she wired electric motors and generators for military airplanes. A bit later her father was injured and rendered unable to continue running the farm. In order to leave her war-effort job she needed a release signed by someone with that authority. An officer of the Farm Bureau finally signed and she went home to help her brother, Ted, run their 500 acre farm. They also had 30 cows, which had to be milked twice a day. She and her brother were active in 4H and she has great memories of the day she received both a ribbon for her grand champion cow and a black eye as she was showing an animal. Seems some kids nearby spooked the cow and her horn accidentally pushed Juanita’s glasses into her eye. Paul Krause, a Farm Bureau officer, sent Juanita to the University of Illinois for training to become a Dairy Herd Improvement Association tester. She became the first woman in the State of Illinois to hold this job. She was responsible for testing 30 herds of cattle (some herds had as high as 30 cows) for the percent of butterfat in their milk and for the cost of producing that milk. Each day of the month she worked with a different herd, testing each cow by weighing their feed and their milk and by computing the amount of butterfat in each sample. Meanwhile, Don McCollum was born in Shelby County, Illinois in 1920. One evening in 1943, Juanita’s neighbor introduced her and Don. They spent the evening together talking. The following morning, Don left for England and World War II. They corresponded for four years during the war. Those letters are still tied in a ribbon and tucked away. In February 1946, Juanita had dinner with a male friend in a restaurant in Decatur when she saw Don and his uncle across the room. Don, who had just returned from Europe, noticed her at the same time. They both stood and started toward each other. I guess her date got the idea that three was a crowd. They were married August 3, 1946 in her parent’s home in Sullivan, Illinois. Don landed a job with Caterpillar in Peoria in 1947. While he was living in Washington, Juanita was living in Sullivan as she waited on their first child and for Don to find a house to rent. Marcia was born in February 1948. Don found a house in Washington and the family was together again. A son, Don, was born March 1951, another son, Brad, was born in September 1956, and Cynthia, a daughter was born in 1958. The family of six lived in the house built by Don and Juanita on Devonshire in Washington, Illinois. They had the house closed in and then finished it themselves right down to the hardware on the kitchen cupboards. Marcia, at age 13, became their first babysitter the evening Don and Juanita attended a movie at the local theater. After the children were all in school, Juanita worked for the local Ben Franklin store for 18 years. Juanita’s delights are her grandchildren. Marcia had two girls, Nikki and Kim. Nikki has two sons, Griffin and Gavin. Kim has a daughter, Addy and a son, Preston. Marcia and her husband Lee Clark now reside in Nixa. Missouri. Juanita’s oldest son, Don, married Debbie McWilliams and they live in Washington. They have one son, Jeff, who also lives in Washington. Juanita’s second son, Brad, and his wife Gloria, live in Cordova, Tennessee. Their son, Jesse, along with his wife Devon and daughter Maddy, reside in Washington, D.C. Juanita’s youngest child, Cynthia, married Jim Patterson and together live in Groveland, Illinois. They have one son, Sean. Juanita was raised a Baptist, but later attended the German Zion Evangelical Reformed Lutheran Church. After they moved to Washington there was a time when they attended no church. Later Marcia had friends in the Methodist Church, so they attended the Washington First United Methodist Church. Then one day Leanette Libotte and Margaret Hamilton from Washington Christian Church began to talk to her about the Scriptures. She was baptized on September 13, 1987, by Dane Avery. Don had no church background and did not attend during their marriage. However, shortly before his death, he confessed his belief and was baptized by Scott Clark, Youth Minister at Washington Christian Church. Juanita’s statement of faith. “I think the first two lines of the 23rd Psalm say it all. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” She also quoted Proverbs 24:3&4 which were printed on the back of her high school graduation program. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” She also remembered a verse her grandfather quoted again and again. Proverbs 10:4 “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.” She was a member of the Washington Christian Church where her funeral service will be held at 11 am Saturday, November 7, 2015 with Pastor Jeff Browning officiating. Visitation will be 2 hours prior to the service, from 9 to 11 am Saturday at the church. Private burial will be at Glendale Cemetery in Washington. Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory in Washington is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be made to Washington Christian Church.

Juanita K. McCollum

December 19, 1921 - November 3, 2015