~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Homeier, a prolific basketball scorer for Feitshans High School who later became a successful businessman and a major booster of University of Illinois athletics, has died at the age of 75.
Homeier was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, when he was honored for a career that saw him score a then-city record 1,836 points for the Feitshans Flyers from 1953-56.
Homeier then attended Illinois, where he was a member of the basketball team through his junior year. An Illinois graduate, he founded Bi-Petro Inc., an oil and real estate company, in 1973.
He remained the company's chairman of the board until his death, and he was involved in several other successful business ventures.
Long before entering the business world, Homeier set a city scoring standard that held up until Lanphier's Ed Horton finished with 2,004 points in 1985. Calvary Academy's Rennie Clemons then moved to the top with 2,939 in 1990. Homeier's 1,836 is currently No. 6.
Homeier became a varsity starter midway through his freshman year at Feitshans. Mickey Madison, another Springfield Sports Hall of Famer, played for Lanphier in the mid-1950s and had several encounters with the 6-foot-3 Homeier.
"I guarded him, and I was a good defensive man," Madison said. "I have a picture of John taking a hook shot out by the free-throw line, and I'm all over him. I think he scored about 32 points that night.
"He had a nice hook shot. He was a good ballplayer, a great guy."
Homeier attended Harvard Park Elementary School. His father, Christian, owned Homeier Dairy on Stanford Avenue.
According to a 1997 State Journal-Register story at the time of John's Hall of Fame induction, he already displayed significant basketball talent at Harvard Park. He lived in an area where students had the option of attending Feitshans or Springfield High.
"My dad (Christian) played cards with some of the Feitshans teachers," Homeier told The State Journal-Register's Larry Harnly. "He wanted me to go to Feitshans.
"I did what my dad said. It made no difference to me."
Homeier also excelled in football and baseball at Feitshans, but he received a basketball scholarship from Illinois. Although he saw limited playing time for the Illini, Homeier became a major booster for his alma mater.
Taylorville's Billy Ridley, who played at Illinois through 1956, became friends with Homeier as they followed Illinois sports.
"I was lucky to know John; he invited me to go to (Illinois) games," Ridley said. "We'd have the best seats in the house. We'd fly (in Homeier's company plane) to some games.
"I remember we went to one game up at Minnesota, and we brought (Illinois coach) Lou Henson back home. We landed in Champaign, then before you knew it we were back in the air and then back in Springfield. There were a lot of nice memories."
The Fighting Illini weren't the only ones who benefited from Homeier's generosity. He made a significant donation to the LPGA Rail Charity Classic, later the State Farm Classic, when the event was on shaky financial ground in 1980.
"John gave us $50,000, make or break," said Sandra Dehner-Wheeler, who was in her first year as the Classic's executive director. "That was John's gift to us. It was like, 'This is a one-time thing; you're getting this money, so run with it.' "It was a big jumping-off point for us. That was the first year we were able to give money to charity. He helped us turn things around that year. He was a dear friend."
Homeier's survivors include his wife, Elaine; sons Skip, John, Doug and Tom; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Private services were held.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDINBURG - John F. Homeier, 75 of Edinburg, died at 1:46 pm, Monday, January 23, 2012 at his home.
He was born September 12, 1936 in Springfield, Illinois to Christian H. and Lena Kupisch Homeier.
He married Elaine Sosman on August 23, 1996 and she survives.
Also surviving are four sons; three grandsons; two granddaughters; three great grandchildren; two sisters, Maryann Carnes and Helen (Ben) Harmony both of Springfield; one brother Chris (Dot) Homeier of Springfield and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
His parents and two brothers, Bill and Wally Homeier preceded him in death.
John's work ethic began in his parents' dairy business.
He attended Feitshans High School where he was an outstanding athlete in all sports including football, basketball and baseball.
He was a four year all city selection in basketball and baseball and became his school's top basketball scorer holding the all city record until the early 80's.
He graduated from the University of Illinois. There he was a member of the basketball team from 1956 to 1959. In 1973, he founded Bi-Petro, Inc. and was Chairman of the Board until his death.
He also developed many other successful businesses including Sang-Chris Sand & Gravel; Homco Ltd; Homeier Farm's; Homeier Oil Enterprise; BP Robinson and Bi-Petro Oil Refining. He also was a commercial real estate developer in Springfield and throughout the country, but his greatest love was drilling for oil and farming.
He also served on various community boards such as The Springfield Airport Authority; Memorial Health System; Chairman of the United Way Campaign; was a 32nd degree Mason; a member of the Jesters; YMCA Board; ABC (American Business Club) and the LPGA golf Tournament.
He was an avid supporter of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and especially proud of the Flying Illini team of 1989 making the Final Four Tournament.
In 2007, he received the lifetime achievement award from the IOGA (Illinois Oil and Gas Association). He was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
He was an avid Chicago Bears and Cubs fan.
With all of his involvements he was able to balance the demands of the business world with the pleasures of traveling the world, and spending time with his family and friends.
On numerous occasions he stated, "If you do something you love to do it's not work, so I've never worked a day in my life in the oil business!" and "If I die tomorrow, it has been one hell of a party!" Private services were held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Southern View Chapel or Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Homeier, a prolific basketball scorer for Feitshans High School who later became a successful businessman and a major booster of University of Illinois athletics, has died at the age of 75.
Homeier was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, when he was honored for a career that saw him score a then-city record 1,836 points for the Feitshans Flyers from 1953-56.
Homeier then attended Illinois, where he was a member of the basketball team through his junior year. An Illinois graduate, he founded Bi-Petro Inc., an oil and real estate company, in 1973.
He remained the company's chairman of the board until his death, and he was involved in several other successful business ventures.
Long before entering the business world, Homeier set a city scoring standard that held up until Lanphier's Ed Horton finished with 2,004 points in 1985. Calvary Academy's Rennie Clemons then moved to the top with 2,939 in 1990. Homeier's 1,836 is currently No. 6.
Homeier became a varsity starter midway through his freshman year at Feitshans. Mickey Madison, another Springfield Sports Hall of Famer, played for Lanphier in the mid-1950s and had several encounters with the 6-foot-3 Homeier.
"I guarded him, and I was a good defensive man," Madison said. "I have a picture of John taking a hook shot out by the free-throw line, and I'm all over him. I think he scored about 32 points that night.
"He had a nice hook shot. He was a good ballplayer, a great guy."
Homeier attended Harvard Park Elementary School. His father, Christian, owned Homeier Dairy on Stanford Avenue.
According to a 1997 State Journal-Register story at the time of John's Hall of Fame induction, he already displayed significant basketball talent at Harvard Park. He lived in an area where students had the option of attending Feitshans or Springfield High.
"My dad (Christian) played cards with some of the Feitshans teachers," Homeier told The State Journal-Register's Larry Harnly. "He wanted me to go to Feitshans.
"I did what my dad said. It made no difference to me."
Homeier also excelled in football and baseball at Feitshans, but he received a basketball scholarship from Illinois. Although he saw limited playing time for the Illini, Homeier became a major booster for his alma mater.
Taylorville's Billy Ridley, who played at Illinois through 1956, became friends with Homeier as they followed Illinois sports.
"I was lucky to know John; he invited me to go to (Illinois) games," Ridley said. "We'd have the best seats in the house. We'd fly (in Homeier's company plane) to some games.
"I remember we went to one game up at Minnesota, and we brought (Illinois coach) Lou Henson back home. We landed in Champaign, then before you knew it we were back in the air and then back in Springfield. There were a lot of nice memories."
The Fighting Illini weren't the only ones who benefited from Homeier's generosity. He made a significant donation to the LPGA Rail Charity Classic, later the State Farm Classic, when the event was on shaky financial ground in 1980.
"John gave us $50,000, make or break," said Sandra Dehner-Wheeler, who was in her first year as the Classic's executive director. "That was John's gift to us. It was like, 'This is a one-time thing; you're getting this money, so run with it.' "It was a big jumping-off point for us. That was the first year we were able to give money to charity. He helped us turn things around that year. He was a dear friend."
Homeier's survivors include his wife, Elaine; sons Skip, John, Doug and Tom; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Private services were held.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDINBURG - John F. Homeier, 75 of Edinburg, died at 1:46 pm, Monday, January 23, 2012 at his home.
He was born September 12, 1936 in Springfield, Illinois to Christian H. and Lena Kupisch Homeier.
He married Elaine Sosman on August 23, 1996 and she survives.
Also surviving are four sons; three grandsons; two granddaughters; three great grandchildren; two sisters, Maryann Carnes and Helen (Ben) Harmony both of Springfield; one brother Chris (Dot) Homeier of Springfield and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
His parents and two brothers, Bill and Wally Homeier preceded him in death.
John's work ethic began in his parents' dairy business.
He attended Feitshans High School where he was an outstanding athlete in all sports including football, basketball and baseball.
He was a four year all city selection in basketball and baseball and became his school's top basketball scorer holding the all city record until the early 80's.
He graduated from the University of Illinois. There he was a member of the basketball team from 1956 to 1959. In 1973, he founded Bi-Petro, Inc. and was Chairman of the Board until his death.
He also developed many other successful businesses including Sang-Chris Sand & Gravel; Homco Ltd; Homeier Farm's; Homeier Oil Enterprise; BP Robinson and Bi-Petro Oil Refining. He also was a commercial real estate developer in Springfield and throughout the country, but his greatest love was drilling for oil and farming.
He also served on various community boards such as The Springfield Airport Authority; Memorial Health System; Chairman of the United Way Campaign; was a 32nd degree Mason; a member of the Jesters; YMCA Board; ABC (American Business Club) and the LPGA golf Tournament.
He was an avid supporter of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and especially proud of the Flying Illini team of 1989 making the Final Four Tournament.
In 2007, he received the lifetime achievement award from the IOGA (Illinois Oil and Gas Association). He was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
He was an avid Chicago Bears and Cubs fan.
With all of his involvements he was able to balance the demands of the business world with the pleasures of traveling the world, and spending time with his family and friends.
On numerous occasions he stated, "If you do something you love to do it's not work, so I've never worked a day in my life in the oil business!" and "If I die tomorrow, it has been one hell of a party!" Private services were held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Southern View Chapel or Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Homeier, a prolific basketball scorer for Feitshans High School who later became a successful businessman and a major booster of University of Illinois athletics, has died at the age of 75.
Homeier was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, when he was honored for a career that saw him score a then-city record 1,836 points for the Feitshans Flyers from 1953-56.
Homeier then attended Illinois, where he was a member of the basketball team through his junior year. An Illinois graduate, he founded Bi-Petro Inc., an oil and real estate company, in 1973.
He remained the company's chairman of the board until his death, and he was involved in several other successful business ventures.
Long before entering the business world, Homeier set a city scoring standard that held up until Lanphier's Ed Horton finished with 2,004 points in 1985. Calvary Academy's Rennie Clemons then moved to the top with 2,939 in 1990. Homeier's 1,836 is currently No. 6.
Homeier became a varsity starter midway through his freshman year at Feitshans. Mickey Madison, another Springfield Sports Hall of Famer, played for Lanphier in the mid-1950s and had several encounters with the 6-foot-3 Homeier.
"I guarded him, and I was a good defensive man," Madison said. "I have a picture of John taking a hook shot out by the free-throw line, and I'm all over him. I think he scored about 32 points that night.
"He had a nice hook shot. He was a good ballplayer, a great guy."
Homeier attended Harvard Park Elementary School. His father, Christian, owned Homeier Dairy on Stanford Avenue.
According to a 1997 State Journal-Register story at the time of John's Hall of Fame induction, he already displayed significant basketball talent at Harvard Park. He lived in an area where students had the option of attending Feitshans or Springfield High.
"My dad (Christian) played cards with some of the Feitshans teachers," Homeier told The State Journal-Register's Larry Harnly. "He wanted me to go to Feitshans.
"I did what my dad said. It made no difference to me."
Homeier also excelled in football and baseball at Feitshans, but he received a basketball scholarship from Illinois. Although he saw limited playing time for the Illini, Homeier became a major booster for his alma mater.
Taylorville's Billy Ridley, who played at Illinois through 1956, became friends with Homeier as they followed Illinois sports.
"I was lucky to know John; he invited me to go to (Illinois) games," Ridley said. "We'd have the best seats in the house. We'd fly (in Homeier's company plane) to some games.
"I remember we went to one game up at Minnesota, and we brought (Illinois coach) Lou Henson back home. We landed in Champaign, then before you knew it we were back in the air and then back in Springfield. There were a lot of nice memories."
The Fighting Illini weren't the only ones who benefited from Homeier's generosity. He made a significant donation to the LPGA Rail Charity Classic, later the State Farm Classic, when the event was on shaky financial ground in 1980.
"John gave us $50,000, make or break," said Sandra Dehner-Wheeler, who was in her first year as the Classic's executive director. "That was John's gift to us. It was like, 'This is a one-time thing; you're getting this money, so run with it.' "It was a big jumping-off point for us. That was the first year we were able to give money to charity. He helped us turn things around that year. He was a dear friend."
Homeier's survivors include his wife, Elaine; sons Skip, John, Doug and Tom; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Private services were held.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDINBURG - John F. Homeier, 75 of Edinburg, died at 1:46 pm, Monday, January 23, 2012 at his home.
He was born September 12, 1936 in Springfield, Illinois to Christian H. and Lena Kupisch Homeier.
He married Elaine Sosman on August 23, 1996 and she survives.
Also surviving are four sons; three grandsons; two granddaughters; three great grandchildren; two sisters, Maryann Carnes and Helen (Ben) Harmony both of Springfield; one brother Chris (Dot) Homeier of Springfield and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
His parents and two brothers, Bill and Wally Homeier preceded him in death.
John's work ethic began in his parents' dairy business.
He attended Feitshans High School where he was an outstanding athlete in all sports including football, basketball and baseball.
He was a four year all city selection in basketball and baseball and became his school's top basketball scorer holding the all city record until the early 80's.
He graduated from the University of Illinois. There he was a member of the basketball team from 1956 to 1959. In 1973, he founded Bi-Petro, Inc. and was Chairman of the Board until his death.
He also developed many other successful businesses including Sang-Chris Sand & Gravel; Homco Ltd; Homeier Farm's; Homeier Oil Enterprise; BP Robinson and Bi-Petro Oil Refining. He also was a commercial real estate developer in Springfield and throughout the country, but his greatest love was drilling for oil and farming.
He also served on various community boards such as The Springfield Airport Authority; Memorial Health System; Chairman of the United Way Campaign; was a 32nd degree Mason; a member of the Jesters; YMCA Board; ABC (American Business Club) and the LPGA golf Tournament.
He was an avid supporter of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and especially proud of the Flying Illini team of 1989 making the Final Four Tournament.
In 2007, he received the lifetime achievement award from the IOGA (Illinois Oil and Gas Association). He was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
He was an avid Chicago Bears and Cubs fan.
With all of his involvements he was able to balance the demands of the business world with the pleasures of traveling the world, and spending time with his family and friends.
On numerous occasions he stated, "If you do something you love to do it's not work, so I've never worked a day in my life in the oil business!" and "If I die tomorrow, it has been one hell of a party!" Private services were held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Southern View Chapel or Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Homeier, a prolific basketball scorer for Feitshans High School who later became a successful businessman and a major booster of University of Illinois athletics, has died at the age of 75.
Homeier was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, when he was honored for a career that saw him score a then-city record 1,836 points for the Feitshans Flyers from 1953-56.
Homeier then attended Illinois, where he was a member of the basketball team through his junior year. An Illinois graduate, he founded Bi-Petro Inc., an oil and real estate company, in 1973.
He remained the company's chairman of the board until his death, and he was involved in several other successful business ventures.
Long before entering the business world, Homeier set a city scoring standard that held up until Lanphier's Ed Horton finished with 2,004 points in 1985. Calvary Academy's Rennie Clemons then moved to the top with 2,939 in 1990. Homeier's 1,836 is currently No. 6.
Homeier became a varsity starter midway through his freshman year at Feitshans. Mickey Madison, another Springfield Sports Hall of Famer, played for Lanphier in the mid-1950s and had several encounters with the 6-foot-3 Homeier.
"I guarded him, and I was a good defensive man," Madison said. "I have a picture of John taking a hook shot out by the free-throw line, and I'm all over him. I think he scored about 32 points that night.
"He had a nice hook shot. He was a good ballplayer, a great guy."
Homeier attended Harvard Park Elementary School. His father, Christian, owned Homeier Dairy on Stanford Avenue.
According to a 1997 State Journal-Register story at the time of John's Hall of Fame induction, he already displayed significant basketball talent at Harvard Park. He lived in an area where students had the option of attending Feitshans or Springfield High.
"My dad (Christian) played cards with some of the Feitshans teachers," Homeier told The State Journal-Register's Larry Harnly. "He wanted me to go to Feitshans.
"I did what my dad said. It made no difference to me."
Homeier also excelled in football and baseball at Feitshans, but he received a basketball scholarship from Illinois. Although he saw limited playing time for the Illini, Homeier became a major booster for his alma mater.
Taylorville's Billy Ridley, who played at Illinois through 1956, became friends with Homeier as they followed Illinois sports.
"I was lucky to know John; he invited me to go to (Illinois) games," Ridley said. "We'd have the best seats in the house. We'd fly (in Homeier's company plane) to some games.
"I remember we went to one game up at Minnesota, and we brought (Illinois coach) Lou Henson back home. We landed in Champaign, then before you knew it we were back in the air and then back in Springfield. There were a lot of nice memories."
The Fighting Illini weren't the only ones who benefited from Homeier's generosity. He made a significant donation to the LPGA Rail Charity Classic, later the State Farm Classic, when the event was on shaky financial ground in 1980.
"John gave us $50,000, make or break," said Sandra Dehner-Wheeler, who was in her first year as the Classic's executive director. "That was John's gift to us. It was like, 'This is a one-time thing; you're getting this money, so run with it.' "It was a big jumping-off point for us. That was the first year we were able to give money to charity. He helped us turn things around that year. He was a dear friend."
Homeier's survivors include his wife, Elaine; sons Skip, John, Doug and Tom; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Private services were held.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDINBURG - John F. Homeier, 75 of Edinburg, died at 1:46 pm, Monday, January 23, 2012 at his home.
He was born September 12, 1936 in Springfield, Illinois to Christian H. and Lena Kupisch Homeier.
He married Elaine Sosman on August 23, 1996 and she survives.
Also surviving are four sons; three grandsons; two granddaughters; three great grandchildren; two sisters, Maryann Carnes and Helen (Ben) Harmony both of Springfield; one brother Chris (Dot) Homeier of Springfield and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
His parents and two brothers, Bill and Wally Homeier preceded him in death.
John's work ethic began in his parents' dairy business.
He attended Feitshans High School where he was an outstanding athlete in all sports including football, basketball and baseball.
He was a four year all city selection in basketball and baseball and became his school's top basketball scorer holding the all city record until the early 80's.
He graduated from the University of Illinois. There he was a member of the basketball team from 1956 to 1959. In 1973, he founded Bi-Petro, Inc. and was Chairman of the Board until his death.
He also developed many other successful businesses including Sang-Chris Sand & Gravel; Homco Ltd; Homeier Farm's; Homeier Oil Enterprise; BP Robinson and Bi-Petro Oil Refining. He also was a commercial real estate developer in Springfield and throughout the country, but his greatest love was drilling for oil and farming.
He also served on various community boards such as The Springfield Airport Authority; Memorial Health System; Chairman of the United Way Campaign; was a 32nd degree Mason; a member of the Jesters; YMCA Board; ABC (American Business Club) and the LPGA golf Tournament.
He was an avid supporter of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and especially proud of the Flying Illini team of 1989 making the Final Four Tournament.
In 2007, he received the lifetime achievement award from the IOGA (Illinois Oil and Gas Association). He was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
He was an avid Chicago Bears and Cubs fan.
With all of his involvements he was able to balance the demands of the business world with the pleasures of traveling the world, and spending time with his family and friends.
On numerous occasions he stated, "If you do something you love to do it's not work, so I've never worked a day in my life in the oil business!" and "If I die tomorrow, it has been one hell of a party!" Private services were held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Southern View Chapel or Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL) - Friday, January 27, 2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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