Farley Funeral Homes & Crematory

As recently as a decade ago, most of their bodies were sealed in caskets and buried in the ground. Today, the majority of them — 59 percent as of 2017 — are incinerated in crematoriums and end up as piles of ash. The same trend holds true nationwide. In Battle Creek, those numbers are a little lower. Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services and Baxter Funeral & Cremation Service both see a roughly 50/50 split between cremations and burials. Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care sees less than 40% cremations among its clients. It’s still a massive change. “Twenty-eight years ago when I started, there was almost no cremation," said Scott Baxter, owner of Baxter Funeral & Cremation Service. “Of course, we follow the trend, but we’re a little farther behind.” The funeral business in Michigan is currently under the microscope following the shocking discovery of about 80 fetal, infant and adult remains inside two Detroit funeral homes.  Most funeral homes never get caught up in such scandals. Funeral directors and industry experts say their focus is accommodating families' evolving preferences for honoring dead loved ones and monitoring slimmer profit margins. “These cases are grisly, but they're rare," said Joshua Slocum, executive director of the Burlington, Vermont-based Funeral Consumers Alliance. "That is not the major problem facing funeral consumers because few of us are ever going to be left in the situation where our mom’s body was left to rot," he said. "That is not a useful thing for consumers to try to protect themselves against." Funeral directors attribute the recent cremation boom to more budget-conscious funeral shoppers, less stigma surrounding cremation and families moving around a lot more as opposed to remaining in one community. ...

Sunday, July 7, 2019, in Pekin.She was born Dec. 29, 1995, in Peoria to David G. and Janice L. (Whobrey) Benassi.Surviving are her parents of Pekin; one sister, Amber (Avery) Rush of Peoria; one brother, Spencer Walker of Pekin; four nephews she adored, Avery and Ari Rush, both of Peoria, and Cameron and Jackson Walker, both of Springfield; her aunts and uncles, JoAnn (Bobby Gilmore) Tribble and Jerry Whobrey, both of St. Petersburg, Fla., Darren Benassi and Brian (Kim) Benassi, both of Pekin; her paternal grandmother, Judy (John) Segler of Pekin; and many cousins.She was preceded in death by grandparents Don Benassi and Betty and Earl Whobrey; and her uncle, John Whobrey.A 2014 graduate of Pekin Community High School, she was active in the Latin Club. The highlight of her high school years was traveling with other Latin students and Mrs. Farley to Italy. She was looking forward to returning to Italy again someday. She went on to attend Illinois Central College and graduated with her Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A.) certificate from Midwest Technical Institute in East Peoria.Haylee had a special gift of caring for others as a C.N.A. and became emotionally attached to many of her patients. She had plans and aspirations to further herself in the field of medicine.She loved music, especially the Beatles and enjoyed dancing. She had the ability to make people laugh, and she loved being silly. She enjoyed playing softball with the Pekin Lil’ Lettes and volleyball in earlier years. She also learned to play the piano at a young age and continued to play.Haylee’s mother was her best friend. She also had found peace in knowing she had found a special someone.Her visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 12, at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Private family services will be held, with Pastor James C. McClarey officiating. Cremation will be accorded following the services.Haylee was fond of her cats, therefore her family has designated memorial contributions may be made to Tazewell Animal Protective Society, 1...