Willicene V. Pobanz

Willicene (Gigi) Pobanz, 98, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at Hillcrest Home, Geneseo.  Funeral services to celebrate her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 3, 2019, at Vandemore Funeral Homes & Crematory – Geneseo Chapel.  Reverend Melva England will officiate.  Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.  A visitation will be held from 10 – 11 a.m., Saturday, August 3, 2019, at the funeral home.  Memorials may be directed to Grace United Methodist Church, Geneseo.

Willicene was born on September 29, 1920, the daughter of Floyd and Ethel (Johnson) Sand, in rural Geneseo.  She graduated from Geneseo High School in 1937.  She married Robert Oscar Cherry on June 20, 1940, and had two children, they later divorced, and he preceded her in death in 1995.  Willicene and Clifford Lestor Pobanz were married on May 7, 1955.  Clifford preceded her in death in 1990.  She lived most of her life in Geneseo, except for a few of her retirement years that she spent in Pharr, TX.  She worked at Farmers Mutual Electric Company, Moline National Bank, and H&R Block.  She loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and several foreign countries.  She enjoyed playing cards, crocheting, knitting, and baking angel food cakes.  She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and TOPS.  She loved her children, Darold Cherry, Marilynn Cherry Bourne, and stepson, Neil Pobanz very much.

She is survived by her children and their spouses; Darold and May Cherry, Lago Vista, TX; and Marilynn and Gary Bourne, Geneseo; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and sister, Elaine Sand Hamilton, St. Charles, MO.

Willicene was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, brothers, Vernon, Laverne, and Dale Sand, sister, Sylvia Sand Chapman, and her stepson, Neil Lestor Pobanz.