Harold 'Deke' Dillard

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Mr. Harold Dee "Deke" Dillard, 79, of Eldorado, passed away at 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

Harold was born in Eldorado on March 29, 1930, the son of the late Floyd and Mary Magdalene (Evitt) Dillard.

On April 4, 1951, Harold married the former Marilynn Mertz in Pigget, Ark., who survives.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

He worked as a architectural engineer at Brown and Roffman and Weber, Griffith and Melican in Galesburg prior to retirement. In his later years he assisted in teaching art to his friends at the Eldorado Golden Circle and sold several paintings through the years.

He was a member of the Eldorado Masonic Lodge. He also enjoyed hunting, fishing, riding ATVs, his CB radio and had a mean hand playing dominos.

Harold is survived by two daughters, Sandra Jo (Brad) Custar of Galesburg and Sharon Sue (Daniel B.) Miller of Eldorado; and a son, Bobby Dale (Nancy Jo) Dillard of Galesburg.

He is also survived by five grandchildren, Bryan Dillard, Katie Dillard, Emily Dillard, Jamie Weinberg and Derek Peck, and two great-grandchildren, Kyler Weinberg and Benjamyn Peck; and three stepgrandchildren, Tim Miller, April Miller and Lisa Miller. Harold is also survived by a sister, Peggy (Dean) Sauls of Eldorado; and a brother, Donald (Ilene) Dillard of Tennessee; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, Harold was preceded in death by two brothers, Lowell and Larry; a sister, Nawana Lindsay; and one stepgrandchild, Danny Miller Jr.

Funeral services will be held at Colonial Terrace Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. Visitation is 10 a.m. to service time Saturday at the funeral home.

Condolences may be sent to the family via the Internet site www.colonialterracefuneralhome.com