Roxanne Conley

 Roxanne Conley passed away early this morning. Aside from being a fantastic wife, mother, sister and daughter, she was active in Carbondale for as long as I knew her. For the past 4+ years she was general manager of G&R Rentals. Before that, she owned Attitude Designs, the local Welcome Wagon franchise, and was the executive director of Carbondale Main Street. In addition, she served on the board of the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau and was active with the BNI WIN group. As active as she was, I have probably forgotten several of her positions in the city over the years.  If you know any I forgot, please post them in the comments.

IG Owner Passes Away

 From the Arbor District mailing list

"We learned yesterday that Rosli (Li) Habibullah and his wife Guillerma (Gemma) Habibullah died in a traffic accident that occurred on Wednesday, between here and Champaign where their daughter, Mona, lives. You probably know Li, even if you did not know his name: he was the owner of International Grocery in the Murdale Shopping Center. Gemma was retired from teaching math at St. Piux X High School in Festus, MO, and serving as an adjunct faculty member at Saint Louis University (SLU)."

From what I have heard, the store is continuing to operate.

Lloyd Rich

Lloyd Rich, also known to locals as "TimeLloyd", passed away this last Sunday. Not sure as to what the cause was but he had been in ill health for a number of years. Rich was a Carbondale fixture since at least the 1990s when I moved to town. Recognizable by his floppy hat, Tom Baker Dr. Who style scarf and omnipresent bicycle, Rich could ususally be counted upon to put in an appearance at most outdoor Carbondale events for years. If you ever attended the Lights Fantastic parade and saw a man pedaling a bicycle festooned with Christmas lights, that was Lloyd.

Rich loved Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Dr. Who tv series, hence the nickname he used, "TimeLloyd" and annually for years he posted notices inviting people to Intergalatic Picnics with a reminder to "bring your towel". He was also an early user of SIUC's computer system, back when the university allowed non-students to access and store material on its drives. Someo

In the last decade, he had a couple of serious bike accidents, which curtailed his bike use, meaning he relied on public transport or the kindness of friends to get around. Until the COVID 19 pandemic started, he remained a fixture at mass at St. Francis Xavier and the Newman Center, as well as the Thankgiving and Christmas dinners hosted by them. The last time I saw him a year or two ago, he was wheelchair bound.

With his passing, Carbondale has lost as unique a personality as Tanner was.  In fact, some years ago, someone made a pack of cards featuring Carbondale personalities including Tanner, former Mayor Brad Cole and Rich. 

Farewell TimeLloyd, say Hi to The Doctor, and So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.

Robbie Stokes

 In case you missed it, local (and national) musican  Robbie Stokes passed away at age 73 this past weekend. His Music Historicity columns in the Southern grew out of his storytelling on the patio at Hangar 9 before and after shows.

Robert "Bob" Spain

 More a personal note but my long time neighbor Bob Spain passed away last week. Visitation is today from 4 to 7 at Meredith Funeral Home with a memorial service at 7 p.m. He was retired for as long as I knew him but at one time owned the long closed Frankie's Bar and Grill in downtocn Carbondale.

Joe C. Passes Away

 Was wondering why Sound Core has been closed the last few days. Joe Castrejon AKA Joe C. passed away from cancer

Tim "Murph" Murphy

 The man behind West Frankfort's Candy Cane Lane passed away yesterday. Caught COVID-19 and was not able to recover.

Steve Gough Obituary

 Steve Gough, founder of Little River Research and Design here in Carbondale, passed away Nov. 2 from renal cell carcinoma at age 62.

Hugh Williamns

Local lawyer and author Hugh Williams passed away last month. Posting with permission some more information about his death:

I found out from Hugh's friend Karen that Hugh had heart blockages and some fluid buildup around the heart, but was too weak for bypass surgery. He was working on getting his strength back and doing much better so his death was unexpected. When he was in the hospital he was not quite calm. He was very weak but the speech problems were mostly caused by the tranquilizers they gave him. He was laid to rest at Grandview Gardens in Champaign.