Howard Shadoan

Howard was born May 14, 1949, in Bloomington, IL to Vernal and Margie (Waller) Shadoan. He was raised and lived most of his life in South Pekin and graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1968. Howard married Judy Blasdel on September 1, 1982, in South Pekin.

Howard is survived by his wife, Judy; seven children, Scott (Melanie) Shadoan of Apex, NC, Cindy (Chuck) Linton of South Pekin, Stephen (Donna) Shadoan of Richmond Hill, GA, Holly (Donnie) Allen of Rock Hill, SC, Darrin (Sheila) Blasdel of South Pekin, Tina (Doug) Dawson of Pekin and Mike (Cayce) Gardner of Pekin; 23 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and one sister, Fran Bruns of Lawrenceville, Georgia.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Howard served in the U.S. Navy from 1968-1971 and was active duty aboard the USS Lyman K. Swenson in the Vietnam War.

He worked as a diesel mechanic for Drum-White and then worked at Caterpillar Inc. for 11 years. He was a long-haul truck owner/operator for several years before he began working for Cincinnati Township in South Pekin where he retired in 2013 after 25 years of faithful service to the community.

Howard was passionate about automobiles his entire life. He began working on cars with his dad at a very young age and could be found most of the time in his garage working on something. He loved stock car racing and especially enjoyed any type of racing on a dirt track. He was a St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan and liked hunting and fishing.

He was an avid motorcyclist and loved to go on long bike rides, relishing the freedom of the open road and the wind in his hair. He often participated in fundraising rides with friends, benefiting various charities, usually for children or veterans.

Howard will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and community. The family will host a celebration of his life, but this will respectfully occur at a future date, out of consideration for rising sickness in the local area.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Easterseals Central Illinois: 507 East Armstrong Avenue, Peoria, IL 61603-3201 or Children’s Miracle Network Hospital by visiting their website https://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/donate or any Veterans’ charity of the donor’s choice.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com