Chester Dillon Obit

--The Pantagraph.  Bloomington, Illinois.  23 October 1971.

Lulu Pearle "Pearle" McNeil is the oldest child of Eli T.and Harriet (Arnold) McNeil, Harriet (Arnold) McNeil is the oldest child of Amos and Lora (Johnson) Arnold).  Pearle McNeil married Chester Dillon August 11, 1915.  Chester and Pearle eventually landed in Birmingham, Alabama, where Chester had accepted a position as instructor and coach in a prominent educational institute.  The winter of 1920, Eli, Hattie, and Pearle's sister, Ellen, went to Birmingham to visit at the home of Chester and Pearle.  Pearle became ill with influenza while her family was visiting at her home, and they were with her when she died February 12, 1920.  She was 32 years old.

--Newspaper Clipping.
The Kendrick Family Album notes Pearle was pregnant at the time of her death.  Pearle is buried in Lyman Township Cemetery.
Chester later married Martha R. Keith.  They had two children:  Robert and Patricia.

The Dillons

Lula Pearle "Pearle" (McNeil) Dillon and Chester Dillon.
Note below photo says:  Married 1920.

--K. Family Photo Album.

The McNeils

Eli McNeil, Lora McNeil, Robert McNeil, Ellen McNeil, Lula Pearle "Pearle" McNeil, Hattie (Arnold) McNeil.  The photo is dated 1915.

--K. Family Photo Album.

"Pearle" McNeil

Born in Wessington, South Dakota, on July 24, 1887, Lula "Pearle" McNeil is the oldest child of Eli T. and Harriet M. (Arnold) McNeil.  Pearle's mother Harriet "Hattie"(Arnold) McNeil is the oldest child of Amos and Lora (Johnson) Arnold.  
Pearle graduated from Roberts High School in the class of 1904.  (Peale is in the center, just to the right of the principal.) She continued her education at the Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.  For several years she was a very successful teacher in the public schools. 

--"Let's Talk About Roberts.  Larry Knilands and Jean Fox.  

Pearle married Chester Dillon August 11, 1915.  The marriage took place on the lawn of the rural Melvin home of the McNeil family with about 60 guests in attendance. 

 

--Melvin Motor.  13 August 1915.

Chester's career  eventually landed the couple in Birmingham, Alabama, where Chester was working for the Birmingham State University.  
In the winter of 1920 Pearle's parents and her sister Ellen went to Birmingham to visit.  While there, Pearle was taken ill with influenza and passed away February 12, 1920, at the age of 32.  She was expecting their first child at the time of her death.
She is buried at Lyman Township Cemetery in Roberts, Illinois, near her parents. 

 

--Roberts Herald.  18 February 1920.

Pearle is easy to identify in family photos, always wearing her dark hair in a high bun.