As the youngest of eleven children, what do you remember most about growing up in that large family in Pekin?
I graduated from Pekin Community High School and Illinois Central College and then attended Illinois State University and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. In the middle of all this, I spent three years in the U.S. Army. My father worked for 42 years at Keystone Steel & Wire Company, retiring the year I graduated from high school. My mother was an LPN and worked at several nursing homes in Pekin before retirement. Growing up as the youngest of eleven children was quite an experience. There is a 21-year difference between the oldest and myself, and even though we weren’t all home at the same time, our small five-room house was very full during my early years. Being the youngest had its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage was, as older siblings moved out, my parents were able to provide a few more extras for us younger children. On the other hand, getting a good seat at the dinner table was influenced by your age and size! My wi
