Donald James Sproul, 89, of East Moline, IL, will be 11:00 AM Thursday at Van Hoe Funeral Home Ltd, East Moline. Services will be live streamed by logging into http://www.facebook.com/vanhoefuneralhome Burial will be in Rock Island National Cemetery. Visitation will be 4:00 - 7:00 PM Wednesday at the funeral home and 1 hour prior on Thursday.

Don was born July 8, 1932 in Dixon, Illinois the son of Clarence and Frances

(Blimling) Sproul.

Husband for 63 years to the former Nancy Wallick whom Don met on a blind date.

They both fell in love immediately. They had two children, Betsy Sproul, Chicago IL, and Peter (Beth) Sproul, Louisville KY. Three grandsons, Robert, James and Peter Jr., Louisville KY, and b rother Robert, Silvis

He graduated from Dixon High School in 1950 where he participated in f ootball, basketball, track and golf. Don was a c lass officer and recipient of the American Legion Award.

Don's parents moved to East Moline in 1950 and opened a Paint and Wallpaper Store. After moving to East Moline, Don attended Western Illinois Teachers College, Macomb, IL which is now Western Illinois University. He graduated in 1954 with a bachelor's degree in education and double minor in b usiness. While at Western, he was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity and participated in many social and intramural activities.

Upon graduation, he volunteered in the service for two years with the United States Army, where he spent 16 months in Alaska. He achieved the rank of sergeant. In October 2015, he had the privilege of going on Honor Flight to Washington D.C. He shared memories with other veterans visiting the various monuments. This was a cherished trip.

After his release from the Army, he went to work for John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline. After leaving Deere, he accepted a job as a sales engineer at Johnson Refrigeration which later became Johnson Mechanical and worked there for 9 years. After this position he worked for Bliss Eagle Signal as the plant engineer.

He left there a nd went to work for Blackhawk College as Director of Facilities . In addition to holding this position, he also worked 5 years as the Director for the hiring of non–certified personnel. During his tenure at Blackhawk, the construction of the Moline campus was completed. He was also instrumental for the construction of the Black Hawk East Campus in Kewanee, serving as the main contact for the completed facilities. He retired from Blackhawk College in 1996. The job at the college was one he dearly loved.

For his entire life he was a dedicated community servant where he gave freely of his time, talent and efforts to make our community a better place to live. This was very important to him. He served on the East Moline Planning and Zoning Commission for 50 years and chairman of this commission for 45 years . H e was recognized as the longest volunteer for the city of East Moline which was 57 years.

He served on the United Township Board of Education for thirty-seven and a half years .

He served as P resident twice. He was chairman of the Black Hawk Division of School Boards Member for 15 years. This division includes 28 school districts. During his tenure on the school board, he co–chaired the first after prom party. He was instrumental in honoring our graduating seniors and recommended to the superintendent that a Boosters club be formed. In 2013, he was honored at the State School Board Convention. At that time, there were only two others in the State of Illinois who served longer than Don.

Even though he was not a graduate o f United Township, he was a huge supporter. He and Nancy were seen at almost every scholastic, music and most of the sporting events. He was also chairman of the East Moline Pool Board for 10 years. He dearly loved United Township.

Member of the First Presbyterian Church in East Moline where he served 2 terms as a member of the session. He was a former member of the Elks Club where Nancy and he enjoyed going for dinner and dancing on Saturday nights. He was a member of the East Moline Silvis Rotary Club, member of the American Legion, past president of the East Moline-Silvis Jaycees, and past member of the Willow Springs Swimming Club where he served on the board.

His long-standing commitment to his community was recognized as he was the recipient of the Denny Jacobs Public Servant Award in 1996.

Don was sometimes not very talkative unless he knew you. Then he could and would give one-liners that were hilarious.

Don and Nancy's home was always a welcoming place. Many family dinners and good times were had at their home. The boys and girls who worked at Willow Springs Swim Club when Betsy and Peter were very young found it a great place to go after dates and on rainouts from their jobs. They sometimes would drink 5 cases of soda pop a week. On Friday nights they would let the kids cook tacos. Many cards of euchre were

b eing played on the living room floor. As Betsy and Peter grew in age, their friends found out the Sproul's was a good place to hang out as well.

Don with the encouragement from Nancy became a Chicago Cubs fan. They traveled

to Arizona for Spring Training and would go to Wrigley Field three to four times a season. After the Cubs won the World Series, he and Nancy had a full-page picture of themselves in a national magazine. What a thrill!

His enjoyment was seeing his children , their academic achievements and watching

t heir sports activities. He also loved watching his grandsons' sports activities and recognizing their academic achievements . Two of the grandsons are very accomplished athletes and outstanding students. One grandson who is disadvantaged held a very special place in his heart . James was named after Don. He always stressed academics is number one and sports is number two.

He enjoyed his weekly breakfasts with the boys for some 40 years. He substituted as a teacher upon his retirement from Blackhawk College. This was a great joy to him seeing children advance in their learning skills.

He loved golf, playing poker and traveling with Nancy for many years. For 10 years they wintered in Texas and eight in Florida. They enjoyed entertaining family and friends and always had special interests for their nephews, nieces, cousins and great greats. Don was very much a family man.

H e enjoyed the neighbors where he lived in his home for 48 years before moving to Summit Ridge Condos where he also was treasurer and served as board president. Don and Nancy had many friends.

Don lived his life to the fullest. He gave his heart to everything and everyone. He was more than just enough, he was everything.

In lieu of flowers and gifts, a memorial scholarship fund has been established at UTHS in his name. This scholarship is not intended for students who excel in academics or athletics; but for those who serve the community, just as he did.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.vanhoe.com

.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Van Hoe Funeral Home 1500 Sixth Street East Moline, Illinois 61244

Thursday, August 12, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Van Hoe Funeral Home 1500 Sixth Street East Moline, Illinois 61244

Thursday, August 12, 2021 11:00 AM

Van Hoe Funeral Home 1500 Sixth Street East Moline, Illinois 61244