Richard "Dick" E. McLaughlin

METAMORA-Richard “Dick” E. McLaughlin, 58, of Metamora, IL died at 9:55 a.m. on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at his home surrounded by his family. Born on April 17, 1951 in Jacksonville, IL to Donald and Betty (Patterson) McLaughlin. He married Dava McKinney on December 31, 1973. She survives. Also surviving are his parents of Winchester, IL, one son, T.J. (Katie) McLaughlin of Lebanon, TN and one daughter, Roxanne (Brandt) Barr of Germantown Hills, IL; three granddaughters, Addison, Quincy, and Ava Barr, and one grandson, Jack McLaughlin; three brothers, Jim McLaughlin of Springfield, Tom (Rona) McLaughlin of Smyrna, TN, and Steve McLaughlin of Chatham. He was preceded in death by his grandparents. He was a devoted husband to his loving wife of 36 years. He was a man who cherished his children and adored his grandchildren. Dick loved well and was well loved by all that knew him. He will be greatly missed but will live on in our hearts forever. Dick was a member of Evangelical United Methodist Church in Washington. He was very active in his church. He was a man of deep faith, which was evident by the way he lived his life. He was an avid sports fan who loved Illini basketball and football. Dick enjoyed attending any and all sporting events. He also enjoyed playing golf and tennis. He and his wife loved to travel, especially to the beach. He also had a fondness for gardening and took great pride in his yard. Dick moved to Peoria in 1972 and began his career at Caterpillar, Inc. He started out working as a parts washer at Mossville and ended his career as a senior manufacturing and systems engineer in the Track-Type Tractor Division in East Peoria. He worked for the corporation for almost 37 years. He was captain of his Relay-for-Life team and through the years raised thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society. He was devoted to raising awareness and funds for cancer research. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Dick’s name to the American Cancer Society. A memorial donation website has been set up at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/dick.mclaughlin. Visitation will be held at Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory in Washington, IL on Sunday, February 21st from 3-6pm. A celebration of Dick’s life will be at 10am on Monday, February 22nd at Evangelical United Methodist Church in Washington, where an additional visitation will be from 9:30-10am Monday at the church. Pastor John Hauck will officiate. Cremation rites will be accorded and a private family burial will be held later that day at Oakwood Cemetery in Metamora.

Richard "Dick" E. McLaughlin

April 17, 1951 - February 18, 2010