Wayne Fourmont

Funeral services will be 1:00PM, Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at Brintlinger & Earl Funeral Home, with visitation Tuesday , 11:00AM to service time. Further services will be at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at the Daleiden Mortuary in Aurora, IL. with visitation from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the funeral home. Burial will be at Lincoln Memorial Park, Aurora, IL.Wayne was born December 15, 1913 to Emil & Bertha Pine Fourmont on the family farm in Warren County, IL. The family moved to Aurora in 1927. Wayne graduated from West Aurora High School and did service in the Army National Guard. He married Elizabeth Koteles in 1933 and the couple had four children. They lived in the Aurora area for nearly 75 years before moving to Decatur in 2007. He was a welder at the Austin Western Co. In Aurora for over 40 years and retired from there. During all that time he was very active in the local chapter of the United Steelworkers of America and served as Grievance Committee chairman for many years. He was instrumental in the negotiations with the National Labor Relations Board in Washington D.C. following the major strikes that occurred after World War II. In 1964 he wrote a history of the first twenty-seven years of his local union. He dearly loved the out-of-doors and every year he and his wife produced a very large vegetable garden plus tending fruit trees and berry bushes. He also raised chickens and ducks so the family had eggs and meat to eat, especially during WW II. Wayne was always a prolific reader, even after his failing eyesight caused him to use a magnifier for large-print books. Also, his love of words helped him to be a good Scrabble player almost to the very end.Survivors include his wife of 78 years; Daughters: Sally ( Lawrence ) Thicksten of Decatur and Barbara A. Crain of Baltimore, MD; Son James Wayne ( Daphne ) Fourmont and Son-in-Law Royal W. Dennis of Aurora,IL; 11 grandchildren 19 greatgrandchildren and 6 great-greatgrandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Emily J. Dennis, grandson Alex Crain, and his two sisters, Helen Fourmont and Dorothy Gray. "
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