J. Donald Embry

PEORIA, IL — J. Donald Embry, a retired longtime downtown Sears manager known by his many relatives, friends and acquaintances as Don, passed away on Sept. 12, 2025 at his home in Peoria after a long battle with melanoma. He was 89.

Don was born the second of five children to Clayton and Susie (Berry) Embry on July 22, 1936 in Butler County, Kentucky, during one of the hottest and driest summers on record. His father was a farmer and factory worker. His mother was a homemaker and schoolteacher.

The family lived in a converted log cabin, which had no electricity or running water.

With 2-year-old Don and nearly 5-year-old brother Dallas in tow, the Embrys moved north to settle near the small town of Mackinaw, IIlinois.

Don grew up working for various farmers around Mackinaw. He graduated from Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School in 1954 and briefly attended Illinois State University.

He worked at employers both big — Caterpillar — and small — working for his father-in-law in a sheet metal business, as well as working for the town of Mackinaw.

Other contributions to Mackinaw included serving on the volunteer fire department. With his brother Dal, and others, he helped start the town’s first Little League team. He often helped the Boy Scouts on camping and canoe trips.

Don spent the bulk of his working career in management at the then-newly constructed Sears store in downtown Peoria, beginning in the mid 1960s until the late 1980s. As store engineer, he was responsible for the general upkeep and maintenance of the building. This sometimes meant a late-night phone call to spearhead sandbagging to protect the sprawling structure from the floodwaters of the Illinois River.

He married Janice Embry, on March 9, 1982, who was his wife of 37 years before her death in 2019. His first wife, Alberta Embry of Mackinaw, with whom he had six children, died in 2022.

A “never met a stranger” sort of a guy, Don at one time seemed to know countless people in the Peoria area. He could name several different generations of many Mackinaw families.

No fan of cold weather, Don and Janice wintered in Green Valley, AZ, for many years, with Don continuing the migration through his last winter. He treasured a view of the mountains from the back patio, which attracted a variety of birds to his many feeders.

Don and Janice always welcomed hosting visitors. With Don behind the wheel, he treated them to leisurely — some would say TOO leisurely — tours along twisting back roads, past towering saguaro cacti and invariably with a stop to light a candle or two at the awe-inspiring San Xavier del Bac Mission.

Don served as the unpaid handyman and occasional cat sitter for his retirement community.

Throughout his life, he continued a long list of favorite activities.

This included playing pickup basketball, baseball and softball until well into his 40s. He was catcher for his baseball team in the Corn Valley League for many years, catching both ends of a doubleheader every summer Sunday afternoon.

Don was an avid golfer. This included local golf leagues and organizing an annual week-long trip to South Alabama for 40-plus years.

He dearly loved playing country music, performing mainly as a self-taught electric bass guitar but sometimes four-string banjo, the latter of which he plucked with some acumen not long before his passing. For many years he performed in country honky-tonks in the Peoria area in bands such as Ward Hopper and the Country Wheels — complete with matching outfits.

A diehard St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, Don rarely missed a game on television. He most enjoyed seeing the Redbirds play live, with family and friends in tow. He had his own Cardinals ticket representative due to a distaste of electronic tickets.

Don never tired of watching movie Westerns, particularly those starring Audie Murphy.

He enjoyed tending to his splendid flower and vegetable garden. He was an avid newspaper reader, with several subscriptions, each one read cover to cover.

He remained bedeviled by cellphones, TV remotes, and fitted sheets.

Don loved each and every family member, in his own way, and in particular doted on and took pride in his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They always knew Grandpa’s freezer would be filled with Popsicles, which forever remained limitless.

Survivors include a greatly loved and blended family, including: his children, Patrick (Trish) Embry of Nashville, TN.; Kitty (David) Hessel of Washington, Utah; Bethany Cottrell of Danvers, IL; Jim Embry of Indianapolis, IN; John (Tracy) Embry of Mackinaw; Cendee (Ken) Adcock Heck of Bloomington; Pamela (Ted) Adcock Jones of Peoria; and Daniel Adcock of Henry; brothers, Dallas (Yvonne) Embry of Mackinaw and Jerry (Sharon) Embry of Fort Wayne, IN; a sister, Juanita (Everett) McNeese of Washington; brothers-in-law Charles (David) Andrews of Tucson, AZ, and Fred (Joyce) Andrews of Galesburg; grandchildren, Barbara (Rob) Kerns; Gabrielle Tarrow; Michaelyn Smith; Alison and Sam Embry; Emily, Kate and Abby Embry; Chandra (Matt) Allen; Christina Heck; and Jacob (Annie) Heck; Turi (Brian) Clough; Griffin (Lindsay) Goetz; Jesse (Nicholas) Thacker; Brock (Rachel) Adcock; Emily (Tim) Wargel; and Brady and Sophey Adcock and Zoey Helch; and great-grandchildren, Annalise and Isaiah Tarrow; Colton, Caleb and Caroline Allen; Josephine and Adelaide Heck; Lily, Sophie, Spencer and Miller Clough; Kennedy, Skylar and Peyton Goetz; Velma and Dawson Thacker; Bennett Adcock; and Dee and Saylor Wargel; and his many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, and other in-laws of multiple generations.

Those who preceded him in death included his parents; a stepfather, Elmer Greiner; a sister, Becky (George) Douglas; and a son, Peter (Kristie) Embry.

Cremation rites have been accorded. A memorial gathering will be held from 2-5 pm on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel, 2021 N. University St., in Peoria.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Carle Hospice https://legacy.carle.org/ or the charity of one’s choice.