Robert T. Pearson

Robert T. Pearson, 84, of Kankakee, died Tuesday (May 17, 2011) at Riverside Medical Center. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Kankakee. Father Mario Quejadas will officiate. Burial will be in Kankakee Memorial Gardens, Aroma Township. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 30 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 2015, Chicago, IL 60602 or to Hospice of Kankakee Valley, 482 Main St. NW, Bourbonnais, IL 60914. Mr. Pearson was the operator of the Station Street Dairy Queen for 36 years. In addition to operating the West Station Street Dairy Queen with Colleen, his wife of 43 years, Mr. Pearson was dedicated to his family and his varied interest in collectibles. He owned and restored a number of different antique automobiles which were regularly featured in local parades. He also collected postcards, baseball cards, cast iron toys and banks and all things Kankakee. In retirement, he also volunteered for a number of causes, including the Kankakee Historical Society. He was involved for a number of years with the reunion committee of the 1944 graduating class of Kankakee High School. His first wife, the former Marjorie Tetrault, whom he married in 1950, died in 1966. He was the son of Benjamin and Ethel Lee Pearson. He was a graduate of Kankakee High School and was a U.S. Navy veteran. Mr. Pearson was born, raised and lived his entire life in Kankakee. He was a 54-year survivor of Type I diabetes, and supported research for a cure. Surviving are his wife, the former Colleen Tetrault, whom he married in 1967; three sons and two daughters-in-law, Marty and Lynn Nickels, of Bull Shoals, Ark., Jeffrey and Mary Pearson, of Lexington, Ky., and Timothy Pearson, of Oak Park; four grandchildren, Michael (Kara) Nickels, Sara Pearson (Shane) Welch, Luke T. (Shelly) Pearson, and Ben D. Pearson; four great-grandchildren; a special nephew, Robert Thomas (Jeanne) Pearson, of Virginia Beach, Va., and their children, Michael, Michelle, Marc, Maisi and Matthew. He was preceded in death by a much-loved daughter-in-law, Char Pearson; his parents; and one brother, Wayne.

Robert T. Pearson

October 25, 1926 - May 17, 2011