Bille Beeney

Bille G. Beeney, 81, of East Peoria, formerly of Peoria, passed away at 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at Heartland of Riverview Nursing Home in East Peoria. He was lifted up to heaven after a year long struggle with Multiple System Atrophy.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 24, 2014, at United Presbyterian Church in Peoria, with the Reverend Stephen McKinney-Whitaker officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2014, at Clary Funeral Home, 3004 West Lake Avenue in Peoria. There will be an additional visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be at a later date at Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria.
Bille was born on January 1, 1933 in Peoria, a son of Leamon and Elva (Yates) Beeney. They preceded him in death, along with his older brother, Robert “Bob” Beeney. He married Audrey Kelley in Peoria on June 19, 1955. She survives.
He is also survived by daughters; Suellen (James) Williams and Marjorie (Pastor Michael) Shirey; son, Timothy Beeney; grandchildren, Evan and Alison Williams, Ilene and Paul Shirey and Andrew and Mateo Beeney; and several nieces and nephews.
Bille attended Peoria Heights Grade School and Woodruff High School, graduating in 1951. He enlisted in the United States Army and served as part of the peacekeeping forces in Germany, during the Korean Conflict from 1952-1954. He attended Eureka College, Dubuque Theological Seminary and Bradley University. He earned a BS from Bradley in 1958 and a MA in 1972. He became a special education teacher for Peoria District 150, working in several different schools over a span of thirty-eight years. He retired in 1993.
He was an active member of Arcadia Presbyterian Church for many years, including during the transition into what is now United Presbyterian Church.
Although a man of few words, Bille could often be found addressing the needs of the community around him. He was a long-term blood and plasma/platelet aphaeresis donor with the Central Illinois Red Cross Heart of America Region, donating more than 56 gallons of blood over his lifetime. He also served as a volunteer driver for many years. In 1999, for recognition of his many years (and gallons) of blood donation, Bille was commended in an annual calendar published by one of the suppliers of blood donation equipment to the Red Cross.
He also enjoyed traveling and took his family on numerous trips, including ones to a favorite spot in northern Wisconsin, Yellowstone National Park, Washington State and Alaska. He loved working with his hands – all of his children have inherited this joy, although they each express it in different ways.
Memorial contributions may be in Bille’s memory to the MSA Research Organization, his church youth ministry programs or the local Red Cross blood center.

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