Merlyn Witheft

Merlyn Witheft, age 88 of Buckingham passed away peacefully Wednesday, August 24, 2022, at Heritage Manor, Dwight. He was born on July 25, 1934, in Buckingham the son of George and Amanda (Elmhorst) Witheft. Merlyn married Donna Tobenski on November 8, 1953, in Irwin. Merlyn was a member of the Illinois Farm Bureau. He did many things throughout his career. Merlyn was a no-nonsense guy who would be whoever he needed to be to get the job done. He was a farmer by calling and a steel fabricator and welder by trade. If you ever walked across the bridge at the Kankakee River State Park or the overpass between St. Mary’s Hospital and MedCentre you have experienced some of Merlyn’s work. Merlyn was instrumental in overseeing the building and installation of those two structures. He was employed by Mitchell Steel in Herscher, Pratt in Kankakee, and finished his career as shop foreman for Steel Structures. Merlyn also used his fabricating skills on the farm. He built a hitch for the combine to pull a wagon along-side so he could dump on the fly. Merlyn also built a hitch for the field cultivator so he could pull the planter behind the cultivator and till and plant all in one pass. Both creations were a first of their kind. He was a horse lover and cowboy at heart, building his own horse trailer from the ground up. In his retirement years, besides farming, he was always tinkering or building something. He just could not let those big hands of his sit idle. Merlyn enjoyed reading Louis L’Amour novels and watching westerns. Most important to Merlyn was his family, especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Merlyn was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, Herscher. Surviving are his wife of sixty-eight years, Donna of Buckingham; three sons and two daughters-in-law, Kevin (Joyce) Witheft of Kankakee, Keith (Lisa) Witheft of Buckingham, Brian Witheft (Robin Foster) of Kankakee; one daughter and son-in-law, Gloria (Bill) Graham of Chebanse; five grandchildren, Dana Witheft, Alicia Szabo, Aidan Witheft, Krista Davis, and Kendra Witheft; five great grandchildren, Natalie, Hunter, and Garret Davis, Evan and Vaida Szabo; several nieces, nephews and cousins. Merlyn is preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters, Delores Peterson, and Carol Nowack. Visitation will be from 2:00 pm until the 4:00 pm funeral service on Monday, August 29, 2022, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Herscher. Reverend Eric Brown will officiate the service. Cremation rites will be accorded following the service. Memorials may be made to the Herscher High School Ag Department.

Merlyn Witheft

July 25, 1934 - August 24, 2022

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Merlyn Witheft

July 25, 1934 - August 24, 2022

365 Days of Grief Support

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