Lyle L McCollum

Lyle Lynn “Mac” McCollum, 87, of Bloomington, passed away at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community in Chenoa.

He was born March 11, 1924 in Lexington, IL, son of Walter Roy and Brittie Bernice Newkirk McCollum. He married Coriene “Connie” E. Rasmus in Olthea, KS on May 28, 1947, having recently celebrated their 64th Wedding Anniversary.

Surviving are his wife of Bloomington; two sons, Roger K. (Rene) McCollum of Wildwood, IL and Brad A. (Marjorie) McCollum of Hudson, IL; two daughters, Vickie L. (Lyndell) Robinson of Springfield, IL and Debbie L. (David) Fairfield of Danvers, IL. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren, twins - Shaun and Jon McCollum, Megan (Robert) Worth, Ian McCollum, Stacy (Matt) Beerup, Samuel McCollum, Adie McCollum, Benjamin McCollum, Ellen McCollum, York Breakville, Brooklyn Haworth, Douglas (Misty) Fairfield, Derek Fairfield and Drake (Crystal) Fairfield and eight great-grandchildren, Caitlin, Gwendolyn, Bryan, twins-Chase and Wyatt, Carter, Cooper and Zoe.

He was preceded in death by one infant sister, Mildred and one brother, Walter R. McCollum, Jr.

Lyle was a 1942 graduate of Normal Community High School, where he was very involved in sports and especially enjoyed baseball. After schooling, he went to work for the railroad, first working as a brakeman on steam engines, and later as a conductor on diesels. In April of 1987, after 45 years, he retired as a conductor from IL. Central Gulf. After his retirement, Lyle and his wife were part of a local “Railroad Retirees Group”.

He was a United States WWII Army Veteran, where he served in the European Theatre, assigned to Battalion 735 Transportation Corps. He was also a member of VFW Post #454 in Bloomington.

Lyle enjoyed playing golf and was proud to have 5 “Hole-in-Ones” in his golfing career. He was also an avid St. Louis Cardinals Baseball fan and Chicago Bulls Basketball fan.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at East Lawn Funeral Home in Bloomington, where visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday. Interment will be at East Lawn Memorial Gardens in Bloomington.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community Association, 24588 Church Street, Chenoa, IL 61726. Online condolences may be submitted to www.EastLawn-Bloomington.com.