Edward I. Strobel's Obituary
Decatur РEdward I. Strobel of Decatur, IL passed away peacefully Monday Morning, May 7th at the age of 93. Ed will be missed by his wife Eileen Irion Strobel, daughter Anne and husband Mike Sadowski of Decatur, sons Edward and wife Cristina of Ft. Lauderdale, and John and his wife Patricia of Solon Ohio, grand children Sabrina Long Pfeifer and Sara Long Reynolds and husband Brandon Reynolds of Decatur, Megan Strobel of Washington DC, Kristen Strobel Auld and husband Andy Auld of Orlando Florida , Ryan Strobel and fianc̩ Sophie Santis of Boston, Connor and Brandon Strobel of Solon Ohio and great grandchildren Reghan Hale, and Liam and Ainsley Reynolds. Phyllis Burns Strobel, his wife of 39 years, and grandson Bradley Long preceded him in death.
Edward was born on a farm in LaSalle County Illinois on Dec 6, 1924. He enlisted in the US Navy at 17 and served in WWII as a Naval Armed Guard on merchant ships in the Pacific theater where he was present at the battle of Iwo Jima and many others. He then transferred to LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks) for the remainder of the war carrying allied marines to the many battles that followed until June of 1946.
After WWII, he attended college and graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, IA in August of 1950. Within weeks of graduation he was called up to serve on LSTs once again in the Korean War. After being released from active duty in 1952 he returned home and married Phyllis Burns from Dwight Illinois. They later moved to Decatur, IL where he founded Strobel Window Company. Ed and Phyllis had three children in Decatur who attended local schools as well as Holy Family Parish where they were founding members. They were also early members of South Side Country Club where they lived for over 25 years.
After Phyllis’ death he reconnected with Eileen McGrath Irion, his high school sweet heart at their 50th high school reunion. She was widowed after the loss of her first husband of 46 years a few years earlier. Ed and Eileen have been married for over 20 years and have enjoyed travel and living on Lake Decatur together sharing a rare second chance at love. In 1999 Ed located a US WWII LST (landing ship tank) and sailed her from Greece to the U.S. with a crew of 60 to 70 year old WWII vets and a “younger” Vietnam era captain. Ed was the oldest of the crew at 76. After returning his voyage was captured in multiple books and a History Channel documentary. Today the LST 325 is a museum moored in southern Indiana and is a working tribute to Ed and the other men and women of the “greatest generation” who sacrificed so much at such an early age and continued to give their entire lives to the betterment of others.
Visitation will be held Saturday, May 12, 2018, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2400 S Franklin Street, Decatur, from 10AM until the 11AM Mass of Christian Burial. Burial will take place at Mount Gilead Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the US LST Ship Memorial https://lstmemorial.org or to St Jude’s Children’s hospital https://www.stjude.org.
Arrangements by Moran & Goebel Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 2801 N. Monroe St, Decatur, IL 62526. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.moranandgoebel.com.
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