Person Page 4,475

Obituary -- The Peoria Journal Star, Monday, 3 SEP 2007 (Genealogybank.com):

EAST PEORIA - Jeffrey S. Behrens, 35, of East Peoria died at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007.

He was born Feb. 15, 1972, in Peoria to Steve and Linda (Bourscheidt) Behrens.

Jeff is survived by his parents of East Peoria; two daughters, Madison Lynn Behrens and Maisey Lei Behrens, both at home; fiancee, Bobbette Ramage of East Peoria; one brother, Jason (Amy) Behrens of East Peoria; grandmother, Marcine Behrens of Peoria; and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Jeff was a journeyman sprinkler fitter employed out of Local 669 with F.J. Murphy Sprinkler Fitters, last working Aug. 30, 2007, on the construction of the Embassy Suites in East Peoria.

A memorial Mass will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Peoria Heights, with the Rev. Thomas Taylor officiating. There will be no visitation. Cremation rites will be accorded.

Memorial contributions may be made to Jeffrey Behrens Children's Education Fund c/o CEFCU.

Newspaper article -- The Pantagraph; Bloomington, Illinois; Tuesday, July 23, 2002; Page 1 (Newspapers.com):

Plane crash details unclear (By Sharon K. Woulfe and Kevin Simpson)

BLOOMINGTON -- No communication with the control tower indicated any kind of problem before a plane crashed Sunday near the Central Illinois Regional Airport.

And such planes do not have black box recorders like larger planes, said Jim Silliman of the National Transportation Safety Board office in West Chicago on Monday while at the airport.

Community leader Joe Warner, 60, was in the left seat, traditionally where the pilot sits, and Peter Ackerman, 22, of Morton was in the other seat when the plane crashed. Both died in the accident.

The two died of multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the crash, said Chief Deputy Coroner Tony L. Becker following an autopsy Monday evening. Final autopsy results will be completed pending toxicology results. An inquest will be scheduled.

Who was piloting the plane was unclear because both the left and right seats have pilot controls, Silliman said.

Warner, the president and chief executive officer of Heritage Enterprises in Bloomington and Ackerman were in a 1973 King Air Beech E-90.

The plane veered hard left after takeoff, crashed and burst into flames on impact at 10:28 a.m. in an open field southeast of the airport, about 400 yards behind the Palace Theaters off of Towanda-Barnes Road, about a half mile from the airport's tower. An eyewitness said the victims were found inside the plane.

The wreckage has since been moved inside a hangar, Silliman said.

The two-engine turbo-prop aircraft was registered to Heritage, a health-care and long-term-care provider with more than 3,000 employees and 32 facilities in the state.

Warner held a private pilot certification for both single- and multi-engine aircraft.

He and Ackerman were destined for Cable, Wis., although specific details of the trip were not available.

Ackerman, the son of Eric and Gayle Ackerman of Morton, graduated from the ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) Aviation Division in Big Sandy, Texas, in September 2000. He was director of flight training at Aviation Specialists in Peoria since 2001, and was a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Ackerman "was polite and showed respect to young and old alike, and was respected by all. He was full of integrity, and he exercised self-dicipline physically and spiritually," said his pastor, the Rev. Doug Habegger of Grace Evangelical Mennonite Church, Morton.

He is survived by his parents, three sisters, two brothers, and his maternal and paternal grandparents.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Paul Schlamm said investigators are gathering background, including information on training and experience, as well as information about the condition of the aircraft and its service record.

No additional information was available Monday A peliminary investigation should be complete in a few days. A complete investigation will take several months.

However, Silliman said it could be a year or more before results are released, with the information from regional offices of the Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB going to Washington, D.C., first.

Possible causes include a mechanical failure, pilot error; or a weather-related issue.

Obituary -- The Peoria Journal Star; Peoria, Illinois; Tuesday, July 23, 2002 (GenealogyBank.com):

MORTON - Services for Peter C. Ackerman, 22, of 308 N. Illinois Ave. will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Grace Evangelical Mennonite Church in Morton. The Rev. Doug Habegger will officiate.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Burial will be in Hirstein Cemetery. Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

He was pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m. Sunday, July 21, 2002, near Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington. He died in an airplane crash.

He was born Nov. 8, 1979, in Peoria to Eric and Gayle Kniep Ackerman.

Surviving are his parents of Morton; three sisters, Nancy Ackerman, Christy Ackerman and Corrie Ackerman, all of Morton; two brothers, Joseph and Daniel, both of Morton; and his grandparents, Mel and Thelma Ackerman and Fred and Nancy Kniep, all of Morton.

He graduated from the ALERT Aviation Program in Big Sandy, Texas, in September 2000.

A member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, he was director of flight training at Aviation Specialists in Peoria since 2001.

He was a member of Grace Evangelical Mennonite Church.

Memorials may be made to ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) Aviation Division, Rural Route 6, Box 2000, Big Sandy, TX 75755.