Eugene "Geno" Willmann

Eugene “Geno” W. Willmann, 83, passed away on Friday, December 25, 2015 at his residence in Beckemeyer. He was born in Highland, IL on December 6, 1932 the son of Eugene R. and Adeline (Hemann) Willmann. In 1960 he married Mary Jane “Janie” Broeckling Peters of New Baden, they divorced in 1970. He then married Maria “Mary” Bango of Beckemeyer and she preceded him in death in 1986.

He was also preceded in death by his parents and grandparents that raised him William and Henrietta (Naegle) Hemann; his uncles: Robert Hemann and Orville Hemann who owned and operated Hemann Brother’s Chevrolet; his aunt Rose Marie (Frank) Bux; a brother-in-law Jerry Murphy; his niece Tammy Murphy; his nephew Stephen Murphy; and twin great grandchildren.

He is survived by his daughter Deborah (Gary) Nelson; step daughter: Theresa (Mark Lee) Bowlin; six grandchildren: Jennifer (Brian) Dischbein, Jason Bastian, Jeremy (Mandy) Bowlin, Sarah (Peter Ksycki) Nelson, Laura (Brad) Henss, Nathan (Jessica) Bowlin; his sister: Linda (Duane) Murphy-Bowlin, a half-sister: Regenia (Bob) Campbell; an aunt: Helen (Orville) Hemann; great grandchildren: Kimberly, Alyssa, Thomas, Catie, Xander, Dakota, Kylyrr, Amber, Navarra, and Brooklynn; many nieces and nephews, and a very special friend Don VonHatten

Eugene went by numerous nicknames such as Satch, Brick, Baldy, and most recently just Geno. He acquired these names while working at Wilbert Vault Company in New Baden and playing the drums in orchestras such as the Bob Donahill Orchestra and the Twighlighters. He loved listening to Frank Sinatra and other Big Band Music. His passion in life was going fishing, basically for catfish. Spending many summers at Bagnell Dam in the Lake of the Ozarks and more recently at Carlyle Lake. He loved getting his hands dirty and started making his own catfish stink bait. He sold this in many bait shops under the name “Geno’s Original Catfish Bait”.

In keeping with Eugene’s wishes, he was cremated. There will be a memorial service held on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at Nordike Funeral Home in New Baden from 4 until 8:00 PM. A celebration of life service will be held at 8:00 PM.

In lieu of fresh flowers the family would prefer plants or statues. Memorials can be made in Eugene’s honor to the Take a Kid Fishing Foundation or to the charity of donor’s choice and will be received at Nordike Funeral Home, 15 East Hanover Street, New Baden, IL 62265.