February
18,
1927
18,
1927
November
18,
2014
18,
2014
Stanley Vernon "Joe" Cain, 87, of Rutland Township, formerly of Hinckley, Ill., lost his battle with cancer on Nov. 18, 2014, at Heritage Health nursing home in Mendota.
Visitation will begin at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, with a memorial service at 6:30 p.m. at Burkhart-Eighner Funeral Home in Sandwich, 606 E. Arnold Road. Military rites will follow at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 25, with burial of ashes in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Elwood, Ill. Donations in his name may be made to the Edward Hines Jr. Hospital Fisher House Foundation, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD. For more information or sign the on line guest book, go to www.EighnerFuneralHomes.com
Stan was a World War II Navy veteran, serving from 1944 to 1946. He was a Seaman First Class on the USS LST 818 and was coxswain for the LST’s LCVP or Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel boat. LST 818 fought in the battle of Okinawa, hauling ammo, and earned a "Battle Star" for shooting down a kamikaze plane.
Stan was born Feb. 18, 1927, in a farmhouse near Somonauk, Ill., the son of Isaac Scott Cain and Helen Viola (Davis) Cain. He married his childhood sweetheart, Helen Mae Foster, on Sept. 18, 1947, in Chicago.
He is survived by his wife and two children, Lonny J. (Cindy) Cain and Cathy A. Jones, both of Ottawa. Also surviving are two brothers, Robert S. (Kathy) Cain, of Sycamore, and Daniel G. (Ruth) Cain, of Maple Park; and one sister, LuElla M. Fallier, of Arkansas City, Kan.
Surviving grandchildren are Gregory (Bonnie) Jones, of Wake Forest, N.C.; Sarah (Jeff) Rodgers, of Plainfield; Trevor B. Cain, of Denver, Colo.; Scott H. Cain, of New York; and Tyler J. Cain, of Ottawa; great-grandchildren, Andrea Law, Alex Law, and Ashley Rodgers, all of Plainfield, and Zachary Jones, of Wake Forest, N.C.; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Velma B. Stevens; and two brothers, Charles E. and Ivan P. Cain.
After the Navy, Stan worked many years as a farmhand and other odd jobs. Most of his career he worked at Certified Industrial Technologies in Aurora, where he was well-respected for his engineering and design skills. He continued to do special projects for the company after retirement.
He loved designing and working with metal fabrication and was proud to call himself a welder.
During his retirement years he continued with his passion for painting, drawing and woodcarving. He was an avid reader and also wrote three books, two self-published, and was working on a fourth.
"Not bad for a guy with an eighth-grade education," he would say about all he had accomplished.
Stan truly loved to fish, especially with family. For many years the simple jon boat he rebuilt and enhanced was a familiar and unique sight over his favorite crappie hole at Shabbona Lake State Park.
He embraced the importance of family and the love it creates, which is then shared through friendship. He enjoyed striking up conversations with strangers. As one friend put it, "He had a gift for making everyone feel special."
The time spent during his final days with family and friends made him smile. He marked these days — and all days — spent with loved ones with a simple proclamation, "Today was a good day."
Stan was loved for his wit and sense of humor, his pots of chili and outdoor grilling, and his willingness to repair what's broken or invent what's needed. He leaves behind a treasure of inventions, designs, tools, philosophy and creative genius — and a welding machine.
He passed as he wanted, on his own — a final, relaxing exhale, going to the God he met at age 9 while reading the Bible under a hallway light outside a room he shared with other young men put into the Glenwood Manual Training School where he lived for seven years before running away and joining the Navy at 17.
Until he could no longer talk, he apologized for causing a fuss. He said he was ready for the "silver cord" to be severed. He asked those around him to take care of each other and assured everyone that his last day would turn into a "good day."
Visitation will begin at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, with a memorial service at 6:30 p.m. at Burkhart-Eighner Funeral Home in Sandwich, 606 E. Arnold Road. Military rites will follow at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 25, with burial of ashes in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Elwood, Ill. Donations in his name may be made to the Edward Hines Jr. Hospital Fisher House Foundation, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD. For more information or sign the on line guest book, go to www.EighnerFuneralHomes.com
Stan was a World War II Navy veteran, serving from 1944 to 1946. He was a Seaman First Class on the USS LST 818 and was coxswain for the LST’s LCVP or Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel boat. LST 818 fought in the battle of Okinawa, hauling ammo, and earned a "Battle Star" for shooting down a kamikaze plane.
Stan was born Feb. 18, 1927, in a farmhouse near Somonauk, Ill., the son of Isaac Scott Cain and Helen Viola (Davis) Cain. He married his childhood sweetheart, Helen Mae Foster, on Sept. 18, 1947, in Chicago.
He is survived by his wife and two children, Lonny J. (Cindy) Cain and Cathy A. Jones, both of Ottawa. Also surviving are two brothers, Robert S. (Kathy) Cain, of Sycamore, and Daniel G. (Ruth) Cain, of Maple Park; and one sister, LuElla M. Fallier, of Arkansas City, Kan.
Surviving grandchildren are Gregory (Bonnie) Jones, of Wake Forest, N.C.; Sarah (Jeff) Rodgers, of Plainfield; Trevor B. Cain, of Denver, Colo.; Scott H. Cain, of New York; and Tyler J. Cain, of Ottawa; great-grandchildren, Andrea Law, Alex Law, and Ashley Rodgers, all of Plainfield, and Zachary Jones, of Wake Forest, N.C.; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Velma B. Stevens; and two brothers, Charles E. and Ivan P. Cain.
After the Navy, Stan worked many years as a farmhand and other odd jobs. Most of his career he worked at Certified Industrial Technologies in Aurora, where he was well-respected for his engineering and design skills. He continued to do special projects for the company after retirement.
He loved designing and working with metal fabrication and was proud to call himself a welder.
During his retirement years he continued with his passion for painting, drawing and woodcarving. He was an avid reader and also wrote three books, two self-published, and was working on a fourth.
"Not bad for a guy with an eighth-grade education," he would say about all he had accomplished.
Stan truly loved to fish, especially with family. For many years the simple jon boat he rebuilt and enhanced was a familiar and unique sight over his favorite crappie hole at Shabbona Lake State Park.
He embraced the importance of family and the love it creates, which is then shared through friendship. He enjoyed striking up conversations with strangers. As one friend put it, "He had a gift for making everyone feel special."
The time spent during his final days with family and friends made him smile. He marked these days — and all days — spent with loved ones with a simple proclamation, "Today was a good day."
Stan was loved for his wit and sense of humor, his pots of chili and outdoor grilling, and his willingness to repair what's broken or invent what's needed. He leaves behind a treasure of inventions, designs, tools, philosophy and creative genius — and a welding machine.
He passed as he wanted, on his own — a final, relaxing exhale, going to the God he met at age 9 while reading the Bible under a hallway light outside a room he shared with other young men put into the Glenwood Manual Training School where he lived for seven years before running away and joining the Navy at 17.
Until he could no longer talk, he apologized for causing a fuss. He said he was ready for the "silver cord" to be severed. He asked those around him to take care of each other and assured everyone that his last day would turn into a "good day."
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