Jerry "Duke" Hebeler

Jerry “Duke” Hebeler, age 73, of Thomson, Illinois, passed away Monday, November 18, 2019 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday, November 25, 2019 at Law-Jones Funeral Home, Thomson. Burial will take place in Lower York Cemetery, Thomson. Visitation will be held from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., Sunday, November 24, 2019 at the funeral home.

Duke was born March 18, 1946, the son of Leonard and Irene (Spencer) Hebeler in Savanna, Illinois. He attended Savanna High School, graduating with the Class of 1964. After high school, he went on to work for the railroad. He later worked for Dupont in Clinton Iowa for over 30 years, until his retirement in 2001. On August 6, 2005, Duke married Carrie Pidde in Thomson.

Duke was an active member of the community. He served as the Village President of Thomson for four years, village board member until recently, and also served on the Thomson Volunteer Fire Department. He was also very active in local sports—coaching little league baseball, girls softball, and participating as referee for 43 years and umpire for 41 years.

Duke will be dearly missed by his wife, Carrie; two children, Teresa (Darrell) Duggan of Thomson and Jeremy Hebeler of Thomson; three grandchildren, Hunter (Katie) Hebeler, Allison Duggan and Dalton Duggan; a brother Denny (Mary) Hebeler of Thomson; two sisters, Sharon (Charlie) Johnson of Savanna and Deb Johnson of Thomson.

Duke is preceded in death by his parents, and two brothers, Leonard “Toot” Hebeler and Richard Hebeler.