Ellen Paullin

Ellen Lohnes Paullin, 102, lifelong Pekin resident, died 7:45 PM Thursday, October 27, 2022 at Hallmark House in Pekin. She was born in Pekin February 24, 1920, the second daughter of Eugene F. and Olive Marrs Lohnes. Her marriage to Robert I. Paullin took place in her family home in Pekin July 19, 1947. Mr. Paullin, retired air force bomber pilot and later a retail business owner and United Way executive, died January 24, 1995. Survivors include her two sons, Robert I. Paullin Jr. of Pekin and Thomas S. Paullin of Baltimore, Md., and six nieces in addition to several great and great great nieces and nephews. Both her older sister, Mabel Lohnes Thompson, and her younger sister, Lilah Lohnes Matson, preceded her in death, as did their younger brother, E. William Lohnes, and a niece and a nephew. Mrs. Paullin attended Pekin schools, graduating from Pekin Community High School in 1937. She was graduated from Christian (now Columbia) College in Columbia, Mo., when it was a girls school. In 1940 she became society editor of the Pekin Daily Times and in 1943 she was promoted to managing editor of the paper, the first woman and youngest person to hold that post. During World War II she also was the Times photographer, taking a group photo of every draft contingent to leave the Pekin and Morton selective service offices. In the Times basement dark room under the front sidewalk, she developed the film, printed the pictures, then put the photos on a bus to Peoria before the Times had its own engraving plant. The pictures made it into that days edition. One of her memories was of a trip to New York and Washington, D.C. United Press had arranged for her to attend a President F. D. Roosevelt press conference in the White House oval office. Tony Wigan, BBC's man in Washington, told her to wait when it was over so she could walk up to the President's desk for a close look at FDR. She first retired in 1949 to be home with her family, but returned to the Times as a part time feature writer in 1964. After the tragic 1967 death of Secretary of the Navy Designate John T. McNaughton, son of Owner/Publisher F. F. McNaughton, she became assistant to the elder McNaughton, helping with estate, editorial and business duties and often substituting as page one columnist. She retired again when the McNaughtons sold the paper in 1981. Later, at the request of the new owners, she contributed an editorial page column until 1990, so her newspaper career spanned 50 years. She remembered that in her youth she filled in briefly for absent personnel at the Central Book and Toy Store, established by her father in the Pekin and Peoria locations and then much later when the Pekin business was owned by her husband. When she was 11 years old, she joined First Christian Church, which was founded by her maternal great grandfather. She was a member of chapter GW, P.E.O, and a life member of Pekin Hospital Auxiliary. She was a member of Pekin Country Club, where she had played golf from the time, she was six years old. She was four times womens champion of the club, including the first when she was in her teens. She also was a former Pekin womens city champion. She continued to play with the PCC womens 18-hole league until she was 88 years old. For several years she was on the alumnae board of Christian College and was honored by the college at homecoming in 1989 with the Columbia College Service award. She was a member of the original board of Central Illinois Youth Symphony, serving for 14 years. Later she volunteered to assist with the reading recovery program for primary students at Starke school. After her husband's death in 1995 she attended classes at Bradley Universitys Institute for Learning in Retirement (now OLLI) until 2013. Also, in recent years she enjoyed participating in the Pekin library book group. Henderson Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Private services were held. Burial was in Lakeside Cemetery on the plot of her paternal great grandfather, John Lohnes, where her husband is buried. The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be directed to the Pekin Union Mission or to the charity of your choice.