May 6th- Celebration of Bill's Life

The weekend of celebration of Bill’s life put into perspective all that he stood for. The visitation on Friday evening honored Bill. Many who came to the visitation were discovering for the first time that he was a coal miner, actor, and a University of TN and Steeler fan. Janine, Jon, and Kari arranged five picture boards, and with the help of his sister, Gail, and digital cameras, we were able to have photos of his childhood.
Bill’s wishes were to be cremated and his ashes placed in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Our Tennessee friends say they know just the place and will guide us there when the time comes.
The Memorial Service on Saturday was so Bill. The music, the eulogies, the scriptures read, were to his glory, and the glory of God. Two of our church choirs sang. The New Life Singers, a group of about 16, sang “In the Garden”, and the Grace Praise Team, a contemporary group with guitars and drums sang “Higher Throne” and “May the Road Rise to Meet You”. Plus, our choir director, Dan Wagner, sang “The Lord’s Prayer”. The music was so meaningful.
Then the eulogies. Janine represented the family. She managed to keep her emotions under control and showed the “daddy” side of Bill. From Bill buying her a drink at college, to Jon being a “human clamp with an engineer’s degree”, to Kari counting her dad’s freckles when a splinter was being pulled.
Pennie represented the choirs and his love of music.
Mark talked about Bill as a friend and family man, and Tom, a business friend, saw Bill from his Christian business ethics, and love of all persons, no matter what their place in life.
Our friends and family traveled from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware and Wisconsin . Some spent the weekend, others flew out and back in the same day. About 200 people attended the service and many stayed for the reception following.
Bill has left his mark in this world. He will be missed by family members, friends and business associates. Thank you for supporting us through this adventure, and lets hope something good comes from Bill’s loss of life to cancer.
Bless you all.
Nancy

John William Huber

"Bill"

John William "Bill" Huber, 59 years old, a resident of Naperville, IL since 1999. He was born January 21, 1949 in Pittsburgh, PA. He died Monday, April 28, 2008 at his home.

Bill is survived by his wife, Nancy (nee Hesel) Huber of Naperville, whom he married August 7, 1971; three children, Janine Huber (Donald) Garner of Indianapolis, IN, Jonathan William (Laura Ziegler) Huber of Knoxville, TN, Dr Kari Huber (Jeffery) Langley of Charlotte, NC; two grandchildren, Margaret "Maggie" Jean Garner and Andrew James Langley; his mother, Pauline Polizzi Huber of Elco, PA; two sisters, Paula Huber (James) Anderson and Gail Huber (Marty) Abercrombie; and numerous nieces and nephews as well as grand-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, William T. Huber.

Bill grew up in Elco, PA and attended California High School, California, PA where he was President of the Senior Class. He was a 1971 graduate of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, where he received his BS degree in Civil Engineering. He was a member of Men's Glee Club, Lacrosse Team, and a founding father of a local chapter of Sigma Alpha Theta Fraternity, which became Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

In 1974, he received his Professional Engineer Certification and had his license in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Utah and Colorado. He began his career in underground mining in Pennsylvania and advanced to mining operations in Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, serving as president at numerous coal-mining companies and was a member of Careers in Coal since 1990. He ended his career employed by Weir International Mining Consultants in Downers Grove, IL as a mining consultant.

Bill's love of music was evident when he performed in numerous church choirs including the Chancel Choir, New Life Singers, and Grace Praise Team at Grace United Methodist Church. He also performed in Community Theater in London, KY performing in Damn Yankees, Music Man, 1776, and Carrousel.

His love of children included activities as a soccer coach, a church youth mission leader, and as a church league basketball coach.Memorial Visitation Friday May 2nd, 4-8pm at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville. Memorial Services Saturday May 3rd, 1:30pm at Grace United Methodist Church, 300 E. Gartner Rd., Naperville. Interment: private.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Bill Huber's memory to: Grace United Methodist Church, 300 E. Gartner Rd., Naperville, IL 60540 OR Leukemia Research Foundation, 3520 Lake Avenue, Suite #202, Wilmette, IL 60091-1064. The Leukemia Foundation asks that you include this information with your donation: In memory of Bill Huber, 512 Bourbon Lane, Naperville, IL 60565.

April 28th- Until we meet again...

While holding the hand of his wife, Bill took his last breaths and took his place in Heaven just before midnight on Sunday.
While his battle with leukemia was strong and full of fight, his last moments were peaceful and full of love.

The Huber family extends our deepest thanks to all of you that have been a part of this journey. We cannot begin to express how much so many of you have done to give us strength. You have made a lasting imprint on our lives.

For those of you who would like to join us in a celebration of this great husband, father, brother, son and friend, here are the plans:

Friday, May 2
Visitation
4 – 8 pm
Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home
44 S. Mill Street
Naperville, Illinois 60540

Saturday, May 3
Memorial Service
1:30pm
Grace United Methodist Church
300 E. Gartner Road
Naperville, Illinois 60540


In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Bill Huber’s memory to:

Grace United Methodist Church (address above)

Or

Leukemia Research Foundation
3520 Lake Avenue, Suite #202
Wilmette, Illinois 60091-1064
----The foundation asks that you include this information with your donation:
In memory of Bill Huber
512 Bourbon Lane
Naperville, IL 60565


May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind blow at your back.
May the sun shine warmly on your face.
May the rain fall softly on your field.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Amen.

April 24th- The cancer has returned

Give this cancer an inch and it takes a yard. When I last wrote the blasts in Bill’s blood were at 4%, no big deal. By Tuesday, the blasts were at 20%, and by today, Thursday, the blasts are at 86% of his blood. Without chemotherapy, there is no stopping Acute Mylogenous Leukemia FLT 3+. It is so aggressive.
Bill is eating very little, and drinking less. The doctor has ordered platelets and saline IV to make him more comfortable for the weekend. I have also learned that when a patient is dehydrated, the blood results are affected. With less fluids in your blood, the counts are exaggerated. The blasts may lower after saline is given.
This is a big weekend with his mom, sisters, two nieces, one boyfriend, and one great-niece
coming in to visit from Pittsburgh, PA. Once again, our friends have stepped forward. One provided airfare for one family member, others are providing transportation to and from the airport, and several friends are preparing meals for the whole weekend. We are so blessed with friends that have made themselves available so I can take care of Bill. I could not have done it without them all.
The next few days and weeks are very critical. When Bill refuses additional saline and platelets, then hospice will be contacted. I will keep you informed.
Please continue to pray for Bill’s comfort. He is not in any pain at this time. Thank the Lord. I pray that will continue to be the case.
Love you all. Our faith will help us through this.

April 21st- All is well...

Bill is so comfortable at home. His bed, his TV, friends and family visiting everyday, and a good nights rest. In the past two weeks, at least one of our children has been with us everyday. They have rotated in and out of Chicago and have been a tremendous help. It is such a joy to have them here.
Local friends have been by daily, but our biggest surprise was a visit from a friend from Kentucky and one from WV who drove into town, visited for a few hours, and turned around and drove home. Bill enjoyed seeing them so much, and so did I.
The cancer has not returned, as of this writing. His body is frail, and energy level is low. We are taking each day, one day at a time.

And Now A Word From Maggie

Grandpap is getting settled into bed for the night, so I have just a quick minute to tell all you wonderful people how my Grandpap is doing before Nana comes in here and makes me go to bed.

My mommy and I have been here for three days and I've learned that Grandpap and I have a lot in common. We both like our naps, we enjoy sweets more than veggies and we both have people taking care of us all the time.

We always found time to play! I showed Grandpap how to work all my toys (especially the loud ones) and how fast I can walk. If I practice a little more, I may be able to beat Grandpap in a race. But only if I don't have to make any turns.

While I've been here lots of friendly people have stopped by to visit or to bring some delicious food. The phone is always ringing with someone trying to bridge the distance with well-wishes. Nana and Grandpap have such wonderful friends. All my friends do is pull my hair or take my toys - I'm glad to see friendship gets better as you get older.

Today, Grandpap got platelets at the hospital. He came back pretty tired, but at the dinner table I told him lots of stories. I have a lot to say. He laughed a lot and said something to my mommy about karma. I don't know what that is, but mom rolled her eyes.

Well, it's time for me to get to bed and say my prayers for Grandpap. I think God must be listening, because he's smiling a lot more lately.

Can someone clone Mom???

Hello... Jon here, back by (un)popular demand. Mom asked me to write the blog today, so here goes.

As to be expected, Dad likes being at home much better than at the hospital. He can sleep with minimal interruptions, has a full selection of basic cable channels to choose from, and the food is much better (thanks to Mom, Questors, and the Church Choir). While I'm thanking people, thanks to the Meadors for my ride to and from the airport... and a 'future shout-out' to the Atkins, Duffs, Shotts, and Seidlitzs (Seidlitz-es???, never covered that in English class).

As for visitors, I've learned two important rules. First, use hand sanitizer immediately... otherwise Mom forgets to ask. Second, hugs are better than hand shakes. At this point, it's all about the germs. Everyone, including me, has broken these rules... and Mom forgets about the enforcement. It's the New World Order, and I know you understand.

Mom continues to stay busy with phone calls to Health Care Groups and Insurance Companies, as well as the stack of paperwork... oh... and Dad needs attention, too.