Eugene W. Eiklor

Eugene “Gene” William Eiklor, 91, passed away Friday, November 5, 2021at home after an extended illness. A funeral service will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 11, 2021, at Concordia Lutheran Church, Geneseo, with calling hours from 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Reverend Stephen Mueller will officiate. Masks are required. Burial will be at Genoa Township Cemetery, Genoa, IL, following the church service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Concordia Lutheran Church, WVIK Public Radio, or Fairview Methodist Church in Cropsey, IL.

Gene was born November 19, 1929, in Bloomingdale, IL, the son of Lester Edward and Emma Marie “Mary” (Mittelstaedt) Eiklor. He married Eileen G. Bruhnke on December 20, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois.

He served in the US Air Force in the Korean War era, joining on February 26, 1951, at Chicago assigned to HQ Fifth Air Force APO 970, Korea. He was discharged in September 1954. He completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago and later Urbana, finishing his education at Northern Illinois University where he earned a master’s degree in Political Science. He worked for the National Security Agency in Washington DC and as a United States Army Contract Negotiator, at the Joliet and Rock Island Arsenals, retiring in 1985. After retirement, he earned a teaching certificate and worked as a substitute teacher in Chicago for three years. Gene was a former Alderman and Mayor of Geneseo.

Gene belonged to many organizations including Bridge Club; Kiwanis; Geneseo Art League; NARFE; Quad-City Botanical Center; German American Heritage Center; Registrar of the Ft. Armstrong Chapter of the SAR; Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society; and New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

As a member of his church, Concordia Lutheran, he served in many capacities including as a deacon and treasurer of the congregation. He organized and conducted genealogy bus tours to the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN., garden tours in Geneseo for the Art League, and Geneseo Library theatrical tours to Chicago.

Gene took great pride creating and working in his garden. In the arts medium, he worked with paint and pencil and completed several stained-glass projects. He read extensively, especially in the subject of history. His interest in genealogy led him to write several genealogical and historical accounts for his family. Gene joined in the camaraderie of “The Guys” Water Exercise Group at the Community Center in Geneseo and participated for several years in the Quad-Cities Senior Olympics.

In the couple’s travels, they toured England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Mexico. Family vacations were on the agenda every year, including trips to Canada, and their grandchildren went on “Elderhostels” with their grandparents in the summertime.

His survivors include his wife, Eileen; children, Lisabeth (Jeffery) McQuaid of Wauconda, IL; Jennifer (James) Garner of Sherrard, IL; Valerie (Robert) Amans of Porter, IN; grandchildren, Alana (Daniel) Opdahl of Williamsport, PA; Jaclyn (Joshua) Bankert of Wauwatosa, WI; Brandon McQuaid of Wauconda, IL; Nicolette (Christopher) Roszkowski of Chicago, IL; and Carissa McQuaid of Williamsport, PA; and great-grandsons, Hudson and Liam Bankert.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Howard Eiklor.

The family would like to thank everyone involved in caring for our beloved husband, father, and grandfather over the past two years especially Pastor Mueller of Concordia and Compassus Hospice Care in Moline, IL.