Tell me about that house . . . . Part Nine

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

Last week we saw that after the elder Judge Reardon passed away in 1941, his widow Marie continued to own and live in the house at 405 Willow St. until her death in 1967. Her children Mary Ann and Judge Reardon Jr. then sold the house to Eugene V. “Gene” Marshall.

Next week we will conclude this series with an account of Gene Marshall and his family, but this week we will turn our attention to the younger Judge Reardon.

As we have seen, the Reardon family had experienced the sorrowful loss of Danny Reardon, second child of William and Marie Reardon, in 1932. Mary, the eldest, died in 1998. The last surviving member of the Reardon family to live at 405 Willow St. was Judge William J. Reardon Jr., who died in 2007.

Although it is hardly rare for people to die at home – and that was even more common in the past – in researching the history of 405 Willow St. I have not been able to confirm whether anyone died in this house. It is certain that no members of the Reardon family died here. Both Danny Reardon and his father died at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, while Marie Reardon died at Pekin Memorial Hospital. As we shall see, the younger Judge Reardon died in 2007 at his home in Country Club Estates.

Senior picture of William John Reardon Jr. from the 1939 Pekinois Senior Edition, page 9. I have cropped the caption with the summary of his high school career from the top of the third column of the page and pasted it next to his photograph.

The Peoria Journal Star ran the following formal obituary for Judge Reardon on 22 Nov. 2007:

The Honorable William J. Reardon, 85, of 335D Country Club Drive, passed away at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007, at his residence.

He was born July 15, 1922, at the Pekin Public Hospital to William J. Sr. and Marie E. (Albertsen) Reardon. His parents preceded him in death.

He also was preceded in death by one brother, Daniel Reardon; one sister, Mary Anne VonDerHeide; and one nephew, Peter Reardon Simpson.

Surviving are three nieces, Barbara Elizabeth (Steven) Sampson of Mound, Minn., Jane Turner of St. Paul, Minn., and Anne Marie Turner of San Francisco, Calif.; and two nephews, Vincent William (Beverly) Turner of Ivanhoe, Minn., and Michael Carrington Simpson of Fayetteville, N.C.

He was an Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War, serving overseas in both wars and attaining the rank of Captain.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a Juris Doctor Degree from the College of Law, both at the University of Illinois.

He was a lawyer in Pekin for 17 years. In April of 1965 he was appointed an Associate Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit and served in that capacity for 28 years, retiring July 1, 1993. He was recalled to the bench as an Associate Circuit Judge for parts of 1994 and 1995. In 2000 he was recalled as the Resident Circuit Judge of Tazewell County, serving in that capacity for five months.

He was a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Tazewell County Bar Association, the Peoria Bar Association and the American Judicature Society. He also was a faithful member of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Pekin and the Pekin Country Club.

Private burial will be in the Reardon family plot at Lakeside Cemetery in Pekin.

Besides the Journal Star obituary, of course, the Pekin Daily Times also reported on Judge Reardon’s passing – devoting two extended news articles to an account of his life and offering tribute to his memory from many of the people who knew him and worked with him over the decades. Those articles, both by Times staff writer Sharon Woods Harris, are reproduced here below:

By any nickname, he’ll be missed

PEKIN – The first case that retired Judge J. Peter Ault ever tried in front of Judge William Reardon was a small claims case, one which he won with a little help.

“I knew he let me go at my own speed – one step at a time, which is what I needed to do at that time,” said Ault. “I guess the thing that impressed me from the very start was how he cared about what he was doing.

“He truly loved being an attorney and specifically a judge. He loved being a judge, but one time he told me that his best time was when he was a public defender defending indigents. Most people will probably never know how much Bill did for the community. He was a very generous man who cared about causes and helped very quietly.”

Former 10th Judicial Circuit Judge William Reardon, 85, died sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. He was found dead in the back yard of his Pekin home.

Tazewell County Coroner Dennis Conover said an autopsy will be conducted today.

Ault said the last several times he talked to his old friend, Reardon said he would not be around for Christmas.

Reardon never married or had children. His only known relative is a niece out of state.

Reardon visited with friends as usual the week prior to his death, last being seen at Yesterday’s Bar & Grill Monday evening where he was reported to be acting like his normal self and was very upbeat, said Conover.

Conover said he knew Reardon when Conover served as a police officer in Marquette Heights and Pekin.

“He tried many cases I was involved in while I was in uniform and he was always fair,” said Conover.

Reardon had a long and successful life and career. He was appointed judge in 1965 and retired in 1993. He was recalled to the bench in April 1994 to fill in for another judge until May of 1994. Again he was recalled to the bench as a replacement judge from February to July 1995.

Reardon served as a circuit judge from July to December 2000 after Judge John Gorman was appointed to the federal court.

In 1995, Reardon was appointed by Judge Donald Courson to perform weddings in Tazewell County every Friday. From July 4, 1995, to Oct. 26 of this year. Reardon performed 2,288 marriages. On Valentine’s Day 1997, he married 20 couples at the courthouse, said Arvella Guidotti, court administrator. He also approved numerous adoptions.

Judge John Gorman said Reardon served in both World War II and the Korean War. In WW II, he served as an officer. In Korea, he served as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer because he had recently become a lawyer. Reardon was proud of his JAG service, said Gorman.

In his many years of service, Reardon touched a lot of hearts.

Gorman said the late judge visited his family frequently and talked to his children. Reardon was very pleased when Gorman’s daughter was appointed as a judge.

Reardon was always fair on the bench, said Gorman.

“No one was ever short-changed when Bill was on the bench,” he said.

Tazewell County Judge Tim Lucas said he was hired by the state’s attorney’s office in 1981. He was assigned to Judge Reardon’s traffic court.

“He was as fair a man as I ever met as far as justice was concerned,” said Lucas. “He really had a hard time sending people to punishment.”

Lucas said during Reardon’s early career as a judge, people were sentenced to jail or the penal farm in Vandalia.

“He didn’t enjoy doing it, but if the person had exhausted all his chances, he did it,” said Lucas.

When Reardon felt the state did not prove its case but felt there was merit to the charges, he would pronounce the case not proven rather than the defendant not guilty, said Lucas.

“In other words, he knew something was there but the state didn’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Lucas.

Lucas said the lawyers used to laugh because the arraignment took longer than the sentencing. “No one was ever sold short on knowing their rights with Judge Reardon,” he said. “He is going to be sorely missed for all the things he did in this courthouse and in this community.”

Chief Bailiff Jim McMullin met Reardon 25 years ago when his son was in trouble with the law. Reardon was the judge and former Judge J. Peter Ault was the defense attorney. Once McMullin started as a bailiff, he really got to know Reardon.

“He was a very talented man,” said McMullin. “He was very well read.”

Judge Stephen Kouri said his relationship with Reardon was not as close as some other judges, but he remembers facing Reardon as a defense attorney.

“He was a unique judge in that procedures were to be followed,” said Kouri. “You didn’t fear going in there because you knew he was going to be fair – that he was going to be very articulate and you were going to understand what the procedures were going to be in his courtroom.

“So, you know, there were no surprises there . . . . I really wonder how many consecutive years he’s been in the courtroom with a robe on. Probably more than anybody that I can think of. He’s been an institution here – there’s no doubt about that.

“You know, the public probably can’t name too many judges. I think it was a compliment to him that in these parts when they asked someone to name a judge they probably named Judge Reardon, or his name would pop up as much as anyone else. And it wouldn’t be a negative way – it would be in a positive way and with respect.”

Judge Richard McCoy was also a practicing attorney while Reardon was on the bench.

“Whether you talk about him as a judge or a person, he was just a wonderful guy,” said McCoy. “He knows more minutiae than anyone I ever met in my life.

“He was always glad to fill in all the details and we were always glad to hear them. He was a good judge. His father was a judge. I’m really going to miss the guy. He was just a wonderful guy. He never married. We were his family.”

Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz said Reardon never gave up his love of the law.

“I have a great amount of respect for him,” said Umholtz. “He was one of the most dedicated (people) that I have met around the courthouse.

“He was here day and night it seems like and he will be greatly missed . . . . During these past few years, you would think perhaps he wasn’t keeping up on what was going on. But he would call me and always have something very pertinent, intelligent and useful to tell me about an issue that we were working with. He called me several times over the years and would always remark to me, ‘You know that quote you have out there on your office window – I agree with that so much and I’m so glad to see that you put that out there.”

On Umholtz’s window reads the words, “A prosecutor’s job is to seek justice and not merely convict.”

“I think he was one of those judges who truly made certain that justice was done in his courtroom,” said Umholtz.

Judge Reardon shows humorous side

PEKIN – When Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz was a young man he worked as a lifeguard at Twin Lakes – a former North Pekin beach where families would go to swim on Illinois Route 29.

It was on the coldest days of the season that Umholtz and his fellow lifeguards would see William Reardon – a man who liked to stay healthy and was a little ornery as well.

Reardon knew young Umholtz from high school swim meets because he would come to watch the swim competitions.

“I really got to know him when I was a lifeguard at Twin Lakes,” said Umholtz. “He would come out on the coldest days and we would have to swim out to the lifeguard seats – they were in the middle of the lake.

“Every now and then he would swim by and ask if we were comfortable or if it was warm enough for us. I thought to much of Judge Reardon that when I was elected State’s Attorney I wanted him to render the oath of office.”

Judge Reardon died sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning at his home in Country Club Estates.

Members of the bench and others recounted Tuesday their fond memories of “Sweet Ole Bill,” as he was nicknamed.

Reardon took Tazewell County Circuit Court Clerk Pam Gardner by surprise one day at the Tazewell County Courthouse. Gardner took the oath of office in December 1998. Judge Reardon was serving as a Tazewell County judge. Her first encounter with the judge was a bit unnerving for Gardner.

“When I took office I started coming in on the weekends because there was a lot to do and a lot to learn,” said Gardner. “The very first Saturday after I was sworn in I came into the courthouse.

“This building is kind of spooky and dark when no one is here. You can hear a pin drop. I came up the first flight of stairs and had my key out to go into my office. When I got to the top of the stairs I heard the elevator kick on. I ran from the stairs along the banister and tried to get my key in the door.

“The elevator opened and Judge Reardon stepped out. I said, “Oh, Judge Reardon – I thought you were the courthouse ghost and going to kill me.”

Reardon told her he spent a lot of time at the courthouse on the weekend reviewing small claims cases for Monday. It turned out Reardon wanted a key to her office so he could pull the files on cases he would be involved with on Mondays.

Gardner gave him the key and he was “just delighted,” she said.

Gardner always referred to Reardon as “Judge Reardon” or “Your Honor” when she encountered him. One day he corrected her.

“He said I could call him SOB,” said Gardner. “I was stunned and said that out of respect I couldn’t call him that.

“Then he told me it stood for Sweet Ole Bill.”

Gardner’s daughter later asked Reardon to conduct her wedding at the Sunken Gardens in Mineral Springs Park. When the limousine pulled up with the maid of honor, the flower girl, the bride and Gardner, all of the guests and Reardon were waiting in the park.

“Before we could ever get out of the limo Judge Reardon came up the hill, knocked on the window, told my daughter to scoot over and got in and sat down. Everyone was waiting for us and he was telling us stories. He finally said we better get out and get on with this.”

Retired Judge John Gorman told of another fond and funny memory of Reardon. Reardon was also known by the nickname of Beans.

Reardon was an avid baseball fan and in the 1930s there was a Major League Baseball player named John Reardon who was called Beans for one reason or another.

One of the judges said, “If you’re going to call balls and strikes in the courthouse, we’ll call you Beans,” said Gorman.

Gorman remembers Reardon as a man of high principle who just happened to be a judge for the pornography case against the owner of the Delavan Drive-In.

“Bill was very strait-laced,” said Gorman. “The case was about porn movies they were showing at the theater.

“He had to show that stuff to the jury so they could make a determination in the case. Bill was a gentleman. He was not a fan of the movie shown in his courtroom.”

Reardon liked to tell stories. One of his favorites was about the time he was a judge in a drug case against the members of the rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. The band called in a big attorney from California – Melvin Belli.

“Bill enjoyed letting people known he was the presiding judge in the Strawberry Alarm Clock case,” said Lucas.

Judge J. Peter Ault said he remembers the gaudy sport coats Reardon would buy to stun people at the Tazewell County Bar Association meetings. Ault said Reardon enjoyed the reaction of the crowd to the jackets.

Ault also remembers Reardon’s happy go lucky nature.

“When Bill was younger he loved to play golf every Monday at the country club in bare feet,” said Ault. “You would see him coming over the hill pulling his cart barefooted.”

Lucas said the funny times were great with Reardon – no matter what name you called him by.

“Beans, Sweet Ole Bill, Judge – I called him friend,” said Lucas. “He will be very missed.”

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Tell me about that house . . . . Part Eight

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Program Coordinator

As we continue with our series on the history of the house at 405 Willow St., this week we will delve further into the story of the decades when the Reardon family called this house “home.” As we have seen, the Reardons lived there for 52 years, from 1915 to 1967.

During those years, the Reardons experienced all the joys and sorrows that are common to life. Counted among their joys were the births of their three children, Mary Ann, Daniel Albertsen, and William John Jr. One of the chief sorrows, as we have seen, was the death of Judge Reardon Sr. in 1941 due to what appears to have been congestive heart failure.

But the Reardon family suffered most deeply from the death of their second child, Danny, at the age of 16, on 18 July 1932. As the obituary of Judge Reardon Sr. observed, “Among all the word darts and actual bullets fired at him in his life, none cut him so as did the death of Danny; and it is beside Danny that he will be buried next Monday noon.”

The hopes and promise of Danny Reardon’s life were cut short by heart disease, whether from a congenital defect that manifested during his high school years, or perhaps from heart damage caused by childhood rheumatic fever. Here is a transcription of Danny’s obituary and funeral notice from the Pekin Daily Times:

Danny Reardon Taken By Death At Noon Today

All the hopes and plans and ambitions of a sturdy youth who had everything to live for and brightest prospects for the future faded at noon today when death closed the eyes of Danny Reardon in St. Francis hospital.

Danny who was the 17 (sic – 16) year old son of attorney and Mrs. W.J. Reardon, living at the corner of N. Fourth and Willow was an exceptionally robust boy. His friends all expected him to make good in football. He was on the track squad in the spring of 1931.

One day a swelling was noticed in his limbs. A physician was consulted and it was found that a heart difficulty had risen.

All last summer Danny lay ill but when the crisp days of autumn came he improved greatly and was able to go to school a half day each day. When the new semester started in February, he undertook to go to school full time. His interest in his school was such that he was serving as assistant manager of the basketball team and was in line for promotion to the place of manager this year which would have been his senior year in school had he not been interrupted by illness.

But on March 17 this spring he was taken ill again. Since then he has been losing ground steadily until two weeks ago when the doctors at St. Francis hospital told the family there was no hope. Despite the expectations of physicians, Danny never went into a coma. He kept in good spirits and altho delirious last night, he kept his faculties and talked much during the night. The end came at noon today.

Daniel Albertsen Reardon was born September 26, 1915, the son of William J. and Marie Albertson Reardon. Besides the parents who grieve for the loss of their eldest son, Danny is mourned by an older sister Mary Ann and a younger brother Billy. There are many relatives and a host of friends who will be saddened by the news of Danny’s passing.

The body was brought to the Noel Funeral Home this afternoon. Funeral plans will be announced in tomorrow’s paper.

Every scout in Pekin is to meet at St. Joseph’s church at Broadway and Seventh at 8:30 tomorrow morning to attend the funeral services for Danny Reardon, who was a member of troop 55, Boy Scouts of America.

By being there at 8:30 the boys will have time to organize and attend the funeral in a body. Later the boy scouts will go to the cemetery there and place a marker upon the grave of their fallen comrade.

It was almost nine years later that Judge Reardon died in the summer of 1941. After his death, his widow Marie E. (Albertsen) Reardon continued to live there as the house’s owner. Her youngest child, Judge William J. Reardon Jr., never married, and he shared the home with his mother, caring for her in her latter years. Throughout her adult life – first as a wife and mother, then as a widow – Mrs. Reardon was an active member of Pekin’s community and prominent in the city’s society.

Obituary photograph of Mrs. Marie E. (Albertsen) Reardon

Her obituary, which provides an informative sketch of her life and tribute to her community service and her gardening talents, indicates that during the last two years of her life, she was not able to be home very much due to her illness. Following is her obituary from the Pekin Daily Times, Saturday, 8 April 1967:

Mrs. Marie Reardon, Last of Prominent Pekin Family, Dies

Pekin was saddened today to learn of the death of Mrs. Marie E. Reardon, 82, last surviving member of a pioneer Pekin family, who died at about midnight in Pekin Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Reardon was the mother of Judge William J. Reardon of Pekin.

Tho she had been ill for several years and a hospital patient since July 27, 1965, Mrs. Reardon in the years preceding her long illness had been prominent in many local organizations, and her artistic talents, particularly, had benefited the community and all groups with which she had been associated.

Her home at 405 Willow street, always open to friends, and often the scene of outstanding events for church and social groups, reflected Mrs. Reardon’s interests. As a bride she had established her home at that address, and over the years the interior decoration became a collection of treasured objects and the grounds revealed her lifelong interest in gardening.

In her church, Grace Methodist, Mrs. Reardon was prominent for many years in the Women’s Society of Christian Service, and she had given much of her time to the YWCA, which she at one time served as president. She was also a past president of Pekin Garden Club, a member and past president of Chapter GW of PEO, and a Pekin Woman’s Club member. Many other organizations in the community were indebted over the years to Mrs. Reardon for her contribution in the form of floral decoration when special events occurred.

Marie E. Albertsen was born Oct. 27, 1884, the ninth of ten children of Ubbo J. and Sophia Koch Albertsen. Her six brothers and three sisters preceded her in death, as did her parents. Also deceased is her husband, William J. Reardon, whom she married in Pekin June 17, 1913. His death occurred June 25, 1941.

The Reardons had three children, two of whom survive: Mrs. Richard (Mary Ann) VonDerHeide of Alexandria, Minn., and Judge William J. Reardon of Pekin. Another son, Daniel, died in 1932. Mrs. VonDerHeide had six children who survive their grandmother.

Preston Funeral Home has announced that services for Mrs. Reardon will be held in Grace Methodist Church at 2 p.m. Monday, with burial in Lakeside Cemetery. Dr. J. A. Mason, pastor of the church, will officiate. Visitation will be held Sunday at the funeral home from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. and the body will be taken to the church at 11 a.m. Monday. Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Methodist Church or to the Pekin YWCA.

After her death, her children Mary and Judge Reardon Jr. sold the house at 405 Willow St. to a CILCO employee from Pekin named Eugene V. Marshall. Marie Reardon’s eldest child Mary survived her by almost 31 years. Here is Mary’s obituary, from the 4 Feb. 1998 Pekin Daily Times:

PEKIN — Mary Ann VonDerHeide, 83, of 312 Buena Vista St., Apt. 8, died at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1998, at Pekin Hospital.

There will be no services or visitation. Cremation rites will be accorded and inurnment will be in Alexandria, Minn.

Preston-Hanley Funeral Home, Pekin Chapel, is handling the arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pekin Public Library or Douglas County Public Library in Alexandria.

She was born May 19, 1914, in Pekin to William J. and Marie E. Albertsen Reardon. She married Richard E. VonDerHeide April 2, 1964, in Alexandria, Minn.

Surviving are her husband, of the Veterans Home in Minneapolis, Minn.; three sons, Michael Carrington Simpson of Fayetteville, N.C., Peter Reardon Simpson of Fairfax, Calif., and Vincent William Turner of Ivanhoe, Minn.; three daughters, Anne Marie Turner of Redwood City, Calif., Jane Turner of St. Paul, Minn., and Barbara Elizabeth Sampson of Minnetonka, Minn.; one stepson, Charles Daniel VonDerHeide of Manito; seven grandchildren; and one brother, William J. Reardon of Pekin.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics from St. Mary of the Woods College in St. Mary of the Woods, Ind. She was a 1931 graduate of Pekin Community High School.

Mrs. VonDerHeide served her dietician internship at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. She was a dietician at hospitals in New Jersey, California and at Station Hospital at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. She last worked at Pekin Hospital.

1931 senior picture of Mary Ann Reardon, eldest child of Judge William J. Reardon Sr. and Marie E. (Albertsen) Reardon

Nine years later, Mary Ann’s youngest brother, Judge Reardon Jr., died at his home in Country Club estates. Next week we will share the obituaries and newspaper tribute articles of the last surviving member of the Reardon family to live at 405 Willow St., Judge William J. Reardon Jr.

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Tell me about that house . . . . Part Six

By Jared L. Olar

Local History Specialist

This week we will begin to tell the story of the Reardon family, who lived at 405 Willow St. from 1915 to 1967.

As we learned in prior installments in this series, the house at 405 Willow St. was built in 1871 or 1872 by Dietrich C. Smith, who lived there with his family until 1907. The next family to own and live in the house were the Bleekers, who lived there from 1911 until January of 1915.

Tazewell County State’s Attorney William John Reardon Sr. (1878-1941) purchased the house from Blanche Bleeker on 30 Jan. 1915. Regarding Reardon’s purchase of the house, in his book “Pekin History: Then and Now,” Rob Clifton wrote, “In 1915 William Reardon bought the home for his bride, who dreamed of living in the home many years prior to moving in.”

His bride was Marie Elizabeth Albertsen (1884-1967), daughter of Ubbo Janssen and Anna Elizabeth Sophia (Koch) Albertsen of Pekin. William and Marie married at the home of her parents on 17 June 1913. Marie’s father Ubbo served in the Illinois General Assembly as a senator, and was partner with John Hinners in the Hinners Organ Co. The Albertsens formerly lived at 612 Henrietta St., which was about three blocks south of the D. C. Smith mansion. Later they lived in a home at the corner of Capitol and Willow streets, about a block east of the Smith mansion. Since the Albertsens and Smiths were both prominent Pekin families from Ostfriesland, they ran in the same circles and Marie must have seen and visited the house at 405 Willow St. innumerable times before her marriage.

While marriages in those days normally took place when a couple was in their late teens or early 20s, William and Marie Reardon did not marry until he was 34 and she was 28, which was highly unusual for first marriages back then. In William’s case the delay was mostly due to his long years of study for the legal profession. Partly due to their marrying late, William and Marie had only three children, a daughter named Mary Ann and two sons named Daniel Albertsen and William John Jr.

Among the records that show the Reardons’ residence at 405 Willow St. is William J. Reardon’s World War I draft registration, which says “William John Reardon,” 40, born 28 June 1878, registered for the draft on 12 Sept. 1918. He listed his permanent home address as 405 Willow St. and gave his wife Marie’s name as that of his nearest relative.

The residence of William J. Reardon and his family at 405 Willow St. also can be traced in U.S. Census records from 1920 to 1950, as follows:

1920: William J. Reardon, 40, Attorney at Law, wife Marie E. Reardon, 35, daughter Mary A. Reardon, 5, son Daniel A. Reardon, 4 years 9 months, all born in Illinois.

1930: William J. Reardon, 51, lawyer, 34 at first marriage, wife Marie E. Reardon, 45, 28 at first marriage, Mary A. Reardon, 15, son Daniel A. Reardon, 14, son William J. Reardon, 7, all born in Illinois. Value of home: $10,000.

1940: William J. Reardon, 61, lawyer, wife Marie Reardon, 55, son William Jo. Reardon, 18, absent, all born in Illinois, all lived in same house in 1935.

1950: Marie E. Reardon, 64, widowed, son William J. Reardon, 27, attorney at law, both born in Illinois.

This portrait of Tazewell County State’s Attorney William J. Reardon Sr. was probably taken by Henry Hobart Cole. PHOTO COURTESY OF KIP SNYDER

In addition to the terms that he served as Tazewell County State’s Attorney, Reardon was a very talented and accomplished local attorney and became a judge in Tazewell County Circuit Court. Among the most notable cases in which he was involved was the successful defense, in partnership with Pekin attorney and judge Jesse Black Jr., of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s deputies who were implicated in the 1932 torture and death of Tazewell County jail inmate Martin Virant.

Reardon and Black had previously served during the 1920s as special counsels investigating and prosecuting cases of bootlegging and kidnapping during the Prohibition Era. Next week we will tell that story in greater detail, for their prosecutions drew the ire of criminals who left their mark on the house at 405 Willow St.

For now, however, we will reproduce the text of Judge Reardon’s lengthy and detailed obituary, which provides an extended account of his life and career. The obituary was published in the Pekin Daily Times on Tuesday, 27 June 1941:

Wm. J. Reardon Taken By Heart Ailment; Ill Week; Funeral Monday

Death claimed one of the picturesque and forceful characters of Tazewell county when a form of asthma of the heart ended the life of former County Judge William John Reardon at 11:30 o’clock last night at the St. Francis hospital in Peoria. He would have been 63 years old tomorrow.

If he had suffered from heart disease, he had never let the family know it. Perhaps he knew too well how the words “heart trouble” would frighten them, for their stalwart son, Danny, had been stricken down in his teens with heart trouble and after long suffering had died of it on July 18, 1932. So Mr. Reardon merely told his family that he wasn’t hungry — didn’t feel like eating. Then a day or two later that “I don’t feel like going to the office today.” That was a week ago today.

Couldn’t Take Oxygen

Monday morning he felt so miserable that Dr. Needham arranged for him to be sent to St. Francis hospital. There air cooling was put in his room and every form of supplying oxygen was tried. But they gave him so little relief that in his semi-conscious condition, Judge Reardon would push the instruments away, brush the tent aside, or seize the mask off his face. Last evening, however, a new medicine seemed to give him relief and he lapsed into a sound sleep.

Family Not Present

“Go home now and get your rest,” the heart specialist said to Mrs. Reardon and son, William. Scarcely were they home, when the call came to hurry back. Speeding to the hospital again, they arrived after death already had come.

William John Reardon was born in Boynton township, near Delavan, June 28, 1878, one of eight sons of good Irish parents. Indeed, his father, Bryan Reardon was born in Tipperary county Ireland, and his mother had come from just over the Comeragh mountains in Waterford county. Immigrants to the new world, they had settled on the rich Boyntown township land. Of those eight sons, half are now gone: Bryan died near the old home in 1904; Edward in Oklahoma City about 1927; and Gerald died in St. Louis the day before Franklin D. Roosevelt was first inaugurated. Living are Michael of Albuquerque, N. M., Neil and C. C. of Delavan, and Clarence of Chicago.

Studies for Law

William went thru Delavan high and was graduated in 1896. A woe of that year to the ardent young democrat was seeing McKinley defeat Bryan. The young student, apt in debate and forceful on the platform, determined to be a lawyer, and went to Nebraska university where he was graduated with the class of ’02. He came back to Illinois and practiced at East St. Louis for a year, then came back to his home county seat and hung out a shingle with a name that was to become widely known in Illinois. Soon after, he was elected state’s attorney, and he celebrated his renomination for the office by wedding Marie Elizabeth Albertsen, June 17, 1913. They were wed in the old U. J. Albertsen home at Capitol and Willow before the same fireplace where a more recent state’s attorney took another attractive Albertsen bride. They made their home close by, at the corner of Willow and N. Fourth, where they lived until this day, and where friends may call to express their sympathy tonight.

Honored Often

Forceful in his enforcement of the law, rugged in prosecution of criminals, stories are told to this day of Attorney Reardon’s activities as prosecutor; and of bullets that were fired at him thru the windows and doors of his home one night.

In later years, Attorney Reardon was elected president of the Pekin Association of Commerce, president of the County Bar association, and from 1924 until 1938 he served as county judge. His law offices were in the Marshall building, just across the street from the south door of the courthouse, and in recent years some of the county’s most important law cases were handled out of that office.

It was during his two terms as states attorney that the present Tazewell county courthouse was built and Mr. Reardon was given much credit for the shrewd financing plan which enabled the county to pay for the building in only a few years.

Daughter at Canal Zone

Beside the widow and son, William John Reardon Jr., there survive a daughter, Mrs. Gerald Simpson, and her child Michael. Mrs. Simpson (Mary, wife of an army officer) had sailed back to their Canal Zone home on May 1 after a visit with her parents. Two telegrams were set to her this morning. Because Mary had no intimation of her father’s illness, they first sent a message saying her father was seriously ill. Later they sent a death message. Of course Mary will be unable to come for the funeral which probably will be held Monday morning at St. Joseph’s Catholic church, with the Rev. Father Sheedy conducting a requiem mass.

Judge Reardon was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic church, the Holy Name society, the Elks, and other organizations; but his friends knew him best as a man who loved his home and cherished his family. Among all the word darts and actual bullets fired at him in his life, none cut him so as did the death of Danny; and it is beside Danny that he will be buried next Monday noon.

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