George J. Essl

George J. Essl, 94, of La Salle died peacefully on February 19, 2017 in his home.

Mass of Christian burial will be 3:00 PM Thursday in St. Patrick’s Church in La Salle with Rev. Paul Carlson officiating. Burial will be in St. Vincent’s Cemetery La Salle with full military services conducted by the La Salle/Oglesby Veterans Memorial Group. Visitation will be in the church on Thursday from 1:30 PM until time of services. The Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle is assisting the family with arrangements.

Mr. Essl was born in La Salle on May 7, 1922 to Joseph and Mary (Hoover) Essl. George served in the US Army during WWII where he spent two and a half years overseas in Italy with the 339th Artillery Division.  He married Antoinette “Toni” M. Miklavcic on October 4, 1947. George worked at Electric Utilities in La Salle for over 30 years and retired from Exelon-Esk in Hennepin. He was a former member of Resurrection Church, Holy Name Society, and bingo group. He is a member of St. Patrick’s Church, Knights of Columbus Council #792, Veteran of Foreign Wars, and the military honor group.

George loved spending time with his family and with his beloved dog Tiffy. He was a handyman who was always there to help anyone in need. He enjoyed traveling, fishing, gardening, and going to the Riverboat with Toni.

Mr. Essl is survived by his daughter Ellen (Reynaldo) Mesa of Garden City, KS; two sons Gerry (Jeanie) Essl of Dallas, TX and Joseph Essl of Spring Valley; nine grandchildren; six great granddaughters; one sister Delores Deisbeck of Peru; three brother-in-laws Sam Scacciferro of La Salle, Edward (Lois) Miklavcic of WI, and Bill Quesse of La Salle; numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Antoinette on August 18, 2014, daughter and son-in-law Nancy and Donald Smudzinski, two sisters Shirley Nelson and Rita Quesse, and one brother Bill Essl.

Pallbearers will be his grandsons Mike, Nick, and Matt Smudzinski; Reid Travis, and Garett Essl; and Dante Mesa.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Horizon House.

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