Donald L. Koester (83) of Effingham

Donald L. Koester, 83, of Effingham, died on Friday, July 8, 2022, in Gurnee, Illinois, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s and Lewy body disease.

His Funeral Mass will be 10 a.m. Friday, July 15, 2022 at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Effingham. Burial will be at St. Anthony Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at Johnson Funeral Home, Effingham. There will be a Rosary at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Effingham County FISH Human Services. Memorials may be sent to FISH at 708 S. Linden St., Effingham, IL 62401. Friends may leave condolences by clicking here.

Mr. Koester was born on August 1, 1938 in the family home on Pembroke Lane in Effingham, the son of Anthony (Tony) J. Koester and Clara J. (Having) Koester. He was the youngest of 10 children. He married Linda L. (Bergfeld) on April 4, 1959. Don and Linda met while he was working at the Texaco gas station in Effingham and Linda worked across the street at the Hi-Boy restaurant. They had been married 50 years when she passed away in 2009.

Don had a passion for cars, from the 1955 Ford hardtop convertible that he had as a young man, to his many years working in the auto parts industry. He had a very competitive spirit which shone each time he played games with his grandchildren (Monopoly was his favorite!) or played golf with his sons-in-law. His grandchildren learned from a young age to love visits to the custard stand and the donut shop!

He is survived by his daughters, Tammy (husband, Bret) Parks of Madison, Wisc., Tracey (husband, Dino) Lucchesi, of Grayslake, and Amy Koester, of Grayslake. He is also survived by the other loves of his life, his grandchildren, Morgan Koester Parks, Griffin Koester Parks, Gianni Lucchesi, Dominic Lucchesi, Alex Nixon, Matt Nixon, as well as his foster grandson, Andrey Zelentsov (wife, Wendy) of San Diego, Calif. Also surviving are his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Janet Koester of Teutopolis, Arthur Michels of Wheeler, and Richard and Karen Bergfeld of Sun City West, Ariz.

He was preceded in death by his wife and his parents as well as his nine older siblings: Margaret M. Lindsay, Robert Koester (died in infancy), Ralph T. Koester, Raymond J. Koester, Sidona Lau, Norbert H. Koester, Walter R. Koester, Florence Michels, and James K. Koester.