NORMAL - Merle C. Ringenberg, 92, of 301 Whispering Pines Lane, Normal, died at 6:42 a.m. Wednesday (Jan. 10, 2007) at Hopedale Medical Complex, Hopedale.

His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Salem Church, rural Gridley, with the Rev. Steve Estes and the Rev. Seth Kempf officiating. Burial will follow at Waldo Township Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday at Calvert & Froelich Memorial Home, Gridley, and one hour prior to the service at the church Tuesday. Memorials may be made to Salem Church, Meadows Mennonite Home or Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

He was born May 20, 1914, in Chenoa, the son of Levi and Matilda Rediger Ringenberg. He married Wilma Anna Amstutz on Feb. 3, 1938, in Lafayette, Ind. She died Dec. 25, 2005.

Surviving are two daughters, Barbara (Ernie) Harrison and Karen (Gene) Clemmons, both of Normal; two sons, Don (Linda) Ringenberg, Braceville, and Herb (Robin) Ringenberg, Bloomington; one brother, Melvin (Joyce) Ringenberg, Chenoa; and one sister, Ruth (Winston) Maricle, Morris, N.Y. He had eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Beulah Swaner; and two brothers, Lloyd and Marvin Ringenberg.

He was a member of Salem Church, rural Gridley, and had farmed in the Flanagan, Chenoa and Lexington areas. He also worked at Illinois State University in maintenance for 16 years, retiring in 1982. He was a member of the Primetimers Club with the Farm Bureau in Bloomington and the C.B. Club in Bloomington, He was a pilot and held his license until he was 90½ and was a member of the EAA Flying Club in Bloomington.

He was an inventor, innovator and a craftsman, and enjoyed woodworking. He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.