Van Dillow

TAMMS, Ill. -- Sgt. Van Howard Dillow, 90, a retired Illinois state trooper of Tamms, passed away at 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Oct. 25, 1926, in Tamms, son of the late Homer Washington and Bertha Ford Dillow.

Dillow was a member and deacon of Tamms Community Church, formerly the E & R Church, in Tamms, where he was a member for 90 years and 6 months. He was a former Village of Tamms board member, a member of the Camping Club and a lifetime member of the Anna Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3455.

He was a U.S. Navy veteran. He served as an Illinois state trooper in District 13A in Southern Illinois from Dec. 15, 1957, to Dec. 31, 1982, with 25 years of service. He later served with the Alexander County Sheriff's Department, where he served as chief deputy.

Dillow owned and operated the former Dillow Gulf Service Station in Tamms for many years, worked a few years with the former GMO Railroad in Tamms as well at the Cairo Ice Plant in Cairo, Illinois, and he was a former school-bus driver in Alexander County.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Mary E. Dillow, on Dec. 5, 2014; a sister, Athel Edwards; and a brother, Homer Dillow.

Survivors include three daughters, twins Karen Richards of Anna, Illinois, and Kay Ogborn of Cape Girardeau, and Vicki (Tom) Keller of Anna; a son, Phil (Mary Ann) Dillow of Tamms; 13 grandchildren, Brent (Dawn) Dillow, Nacole Dillow, Ronnie Tucker, Amos (Candy) Tucker, Donnie (Kristie) Tucker, James (Tina) Hale, Gretchen (Jamie) Wendling, Greg (Jennifer) Keller, Jennifer (Shane) Osman, Tracy L. Rendleman, Michael S. Richards, Cary Lee Ogborn and Derek Shawn Ogborn; 19 great-grandchildren; 13 great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Tamms Community Church on Second Street in Tamms, where there will be a fraternal police walk through at 4:45 p.m. Friends may call from 8 to 11 a.m. Friday at the church, with a funeral service beginning at 11 a.m. Officiating will be the Revs. Guy Johnson and Donald Enright. Interment will be in Mound City National Cemetery in Mound City, Illinois, with full military honors given by the United States Burial Team of St. Louis and area veterans.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of memorials to the Illinois Veterans Home of Anna, 792 N. Main St., Anna, IL 62906, in memory of Van H. Dillow.

To leave online condolence, visit www.jones-funeral.com.

Jones Funeral Home Tamms is in charge of the arrangements.