| Notes |
- Bill Divine was born on the family farm at LaFox, Illinois. As a little boy, he was called "Billy Jay", but later became "William John", or "Bill" for short. He attended the LaFox School through the sixth grade. LaFox School went up through the eighth grade, but Clyde transferred the younger children, Bill, Lyla, and Ramon, from LaFox School to Wasco School in 1935 because he was angry with the LaFox School Director, Charles Keslinger. So Bill went to Wasco School for 7th and 8th grade. There were 14 in his class in Wasco, many of whom became lifelong friends, including Jay Johnsen, Bud Wynthein, Norm Skala, and Bob Jay. For high school, the Divine children returned to their own district and attended Geneva High School where Bill graduated in 1941. He was a member of both the wrestling and track teams, his specialty being discus-throwing.
At the age of 16, Bill witnessed the death of his younger brother in a tragic accident. This event was very traumatic for him and the entire family. Bill was always especially careful about accidents around machinery and horses after that time.
Bill and his siblings had a pony named Babe throughout their entire childhood, as Babe lived to be 23 years old. Of course, they also had teams of horses on the farm, since Clyde did not buy his first tractor until 1939. As an adult, Bill always had one or more horses around the farm, though he rarely had time to ride them. At the time of his stroke, he had 10 horses on the farm.
After high school, Bill worked with his father Clyde on the family farm, and also took on other odd jobs with his friend Jay Johnsen, including re-setting the pins at the bowling alley, and unloading coal trucks by hand. He and Jay also played on the LaFox baseball team before they were married. The team also included Verne and Ray Cox and John Bartelt.
Bill and his brother-in-law Jay Johnsen began farming together in Campton Hills at the time of their marriages in 1946. They rented Miss Rachel Beith's farm on shares. The Divines stayed on at the Beith farm until 1950 when they rented a dairy farm at Bald Mound, south of LaFox, from the Baker sisters.
In the early 1950's, they purchased the "South Farm" from Bill's father Clyde and his Aunt Irma, who had inherited it from their father. The farm was called the South Farm because Clyde had operated it for many years, and it was to the south of Clyde's farm, on Keslinger Road just east of LaFox. The house on the South Farm had deteriorated greatly from the time when the Bill's grandparents had lived there, and Bill was not ready to give up the rental of the Baker farm, so the family never moved to the South Farm. Instead, they rented the house to the Drury family, and later to the Forth family, for the price of $30 per month. The farm consisted of 104 acres, with 80 acres being the original farm on the south side of Keslinger Road, and the other 24 acres, referred to as "the Bentley Land", another mile east, lying on the north side of the road. The Bentley Land was so called because Bill's maternal great-grandfather Levi Brundige and his paternal grandfather Will Divine had convinced Arnold Bentley to split up his farm into three parts, the southwestern 24 acres being purchased by Will Divine and the 100 acres north of the railroad being purchased by Brundige on behalf of his son Levi Brundige, Jr.
After Bill's mother Bessie died in 1962, Clyde moved to St. Charles with his daughters Merilyn and Lois. Bill Divine and family then gave up the Baker farm, sold the dairy cows, and moved to Clyde's farm at LaFox on the last day of 1962. Bill later bought a small herd of Angus beef cows which he continued with until the time of his stroke. In the early 1960's, Bill and Marilyn sold the original 80 acres of the South Farm to National Electronics. National Electronics, later known as Richardson Electronics, built their factory on the portion of the property along Keslinger Road, while the Divines rented back the southern 67 acres of farmland until 1978. The Divines later purchased the 100-acre farm formerly owned by Levi Brundige, Jr, from Fred and Ruth Abrahamson. Once again, they did not live on the farm that they owned, because by that time, they were living in the house where Bill was born and they had no reason to move. In the early 1970's, they sold the Abrahamson farm to a speculator, Jim Murray, but rented back the land until 1978.
In 1978, they moved to Echo Valley Ranch north of Lancaster, Wisconsin, which they had purchased in 1973. For the first time in their marriage, they lived in a home that they owned. Two years later, they purchased a home in the town of Lancaster where they lived for two years before returning to the farm. During this time, Bill continued to operate the farm and the farmhouse stood empty.
On August 31, 1990, Bill suffered a massive stroke which left him severely incapacitated. He lost his sight and his short-term memory for the remainder of his life, though he did recover his speech. In 1991, Marilyn bought a house on Jefferson Street in Lancaster and moved there with Bill.
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?b?Bill's obituary:?/b?
William J. Divine, age 74, of Lancaster, WI, died Wednesday, November 19, 1997 at his residence. He was born May 6, 1923, in Geneva, IL, the son of Clyde and Bessie (Brundige) Divine.
William graduated from Geneva High School with the class of 1941 and followed the family footsteps into farming. On June 15, 1946, he was united in marriage to Marilyn Swanson in Batavia, IL. They began their married life farming in the Kane County area and settled in LaFox in 1962. Moving to North Lancaster Township, WI, in 1978, they continued their life of farming until 1990 when they retired.
He was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, Mississippi Lodge #86 of Lancaster from 1983-1991. William was an avid bowler and he and Marilyn loved to square dance. He loved his horses and cattle and his life on the ranch. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, especially his 'best friend' and brother-in-law, Jay Johnsen.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn of fifty-one years; two sons, David (Mary Sue) Divine of Livingston, WI, and Peter Divine of Boulder, CO; one daughter, Virginia 'Ginny' Divine of Middleton, WI; two sisters; Lois Divine of St. Charles, IL, and Lyla (Jay) Johnsen of Elburn, IL; his mother-in-law, Freda Swanson of Fennimore, WI; many nieces and nephews and a community of dear friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Bessie Divine; one sister, Merilyn Divine and one brother, Ramon Divine, as well as his father-in-law, Edgar Swanson.
His funeral service will be held Saturday, November 22, 1997, at 2:00 p.m. at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL. Steven Johnsen, nephew and Director of the Inner City Parish, Denver, CO, will officiate together with the Rev. Carl Lugn, of Batavia, IL, associate pastor of the Geneva United Methodist Church, Geneva, IL. William will be laid to rest at Garfield Cemetery, Campton Twp, IL.
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?b?Marilyn's obituary:?/b?
Marilyn E. Divine, age 86, died Thursday April 14, 2011 at ManorCare in Platteville, WI. She was born September 23, 1924 in St. Charles, IL, the daughter of Edgar and Freda (Nagel) Swanson.
Marilyn graduated from St. Charles High School in 1942 and worked at St. Charles National Bank prior to her marriage. She married William 'Bill' Divine of LaFox, IL, on June 15, 1946 and assisted in the farming operation in Campton Hills and LaFox. In 1978, they moved to their farm at Lancaster, WI, and later moved into the city of Lancaster in 1991. She was a member of the Bethlehem E&R Church in Lancaster and the Rebecca Lodge of Lancaster.
Marilyn was an animal lover, especially dogs. She was also a seamstress, making clothes for herself and her family. She enjoyed listening to any kind of music as long as it made her smile. In earlier years, she was a member of several square dancing clubs. After she moved into Lancaster, the neighborhood kids 'adopted' her as their special grandma.
She is survived by three children, David (Mary Sue) Divine of Livingston, WI, Peter Divine of Boulder, CO, and Virginia 'Ginny' Divine of Madison, WI; two grandchildren, Cory (Amanda) Divine and Cara (Ben) Biddick, both of New Glarus, WI; two great-grandchildren, Kalea Biddick and Adara Divine; and a sister-in-law, Lois Divine of St. Charles, IL.
She was preceded in death by her husband Bill in 1997, her father Edgar in 1985, her mother Freda in 2004, and her sister Dorothy Nelson Westcott in 2009.
Her funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 12:00 noon at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL. Steve Johnsen, nephew and pastor of the Denver Inner City Parish, Denver, CO, will officiate. Burial will be at Garfield Cemetery, Campton Hills, IL, following the funeral. Visitation will be at Conley Funeral Home on Tuesday, at 11:00 preceding the funeral.
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1924 - 2011 (86 years)
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