Alden M. Berner

Alden M. Berner, 88, of 1804 Alva of Pekin, passed away at 12:30 am on Friday, May 18, 2007 in Pekin.He was born June 13, 1918 in Trent, SD to John and Hazel Wilkins Berner.He married Louise Kunkel on July 10, 1949 in Pekin.She preceded him in death on August 28, 2003. Surviving are: two sons; Dana (Cielo) Berner of Fredrick, Maryland, Curtis (Carol) Berner of Union, Connecticut; one daughter, Sandra (Ron) Peters of Dewitt Iowa; one sister, Shirley Stanfield of Peoria; ten grandchildren; and many great grandchildren. Alden also leaves behind a special friend, Marian McDaniels of Pekin. Preceding him in death was one brother and one sister. Alden attended two years of grade school in Trent SD.His family moved to Ipswich, SD where he graduated and played football during his high school years.He and his brother farmed 90 acres east of Ipswich during the dust storms.They watched grasshoppers eat their entire corn crop over night.He later moved to Sparland, IL where he worked in the clay mines.He attended Business College in Peoria and then moved to Pekin.He was employed at Herget Bank until he was drafted into the Army in 1941.He trained at Camp Davis in Wilmington, NC, attended OCS and graduated as 2nd Lt. served in Pacific, Hawaii, Marshall Island, Ulithi Island, Guam.He advanced in rank to a Captain.He returned to civilian life in 1946.Alden then returned to work at Herget Bank where he eventually became the banks President.He retired in 1987. He was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Pekin, where he was chairman for three years and also treasurer for twelve years. He was a member of the Board of Directors for Herget Bank, Herget Financial Corporation and Tazewell Machine Corp.Alden was a member of the American Legion Post # 44, Pekin Elks Lodge #1271.American Institute of Banking past President of local chapter.Graduate cert from ALB. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am Thursday, May 24, 2007 at St. John's Lutheran Church.Pastor Mark Miller will officiate.Visitation will be Wednesday, May 23, 2007 from 4:00 pm to 7 pm at Henderson Funeral Home in Pekin, with an additional visitation from 9:30 am to 10:00 am on Thursday at his church.Burial will be in Glendale Memorial Gardens with Military Rites. Memorials may be made to St. John's Lutheran Church 711 Court St., Pekin, IL 61554. To send online condolences to his family please visit www.hendersonfuneralcare.com