Honor C. Deiss

Born August 25, 1948 in Williamsville, New York to Virgil and Gertrude (Thomas) Widler, she married Delmar Deiss on August 12, 1977 in Peoria. He died April 16, 2011 in Peoria. She also was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters.

Surviving are her brother, Tom Widler of Pekin; two stepsons, Delmar (Kathie) Deiss of Pekin and Bob (Amy) Deiss of Mapleton; four grandchildren, Robert (Kendra) Deiss of Ashland, Ohio, Michele (Ben) Caruana of Galesburg, Ryan (Jill) Deiss and Troy Deiss, both of Mackinaw and five great-grandchildren.

Honor was very active in the figure skating community in Buffalo, New York through high school. She graduated from Valparaiso University and after graduation she worked for Chicago & Southern Airlines flying out of Byerly in Peoria and Meigs Field in Chicago. When the airline shut down, Honor moved to the Peoria area where she worked for Illinois Department of Public Aid for 30 years. After retiring from the state, she worked for OSF in Outreach Services as a patient advocate.

Honor enjoyed family get togethers and she and Del loved spending time on their boat at The Ivy Club. She especially liked the 5 o’clock hour. She was an animal lover and was always rescuing cats and dogs and giving them a home.

She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Pekin, where she was an active member.

Her memorial service will be at 6 p.m. Friday, May 15, 2026 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Visitation will be held one hour before the service. Private inurnment will be in Green Hill Cemetery near San Jose.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 711 Court Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or to Tazewell Animal Protective Society, 100 Taps Lane, Pekin, IL 61554.

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