Paul B. Thacker

Paul B. Thacker, 91, passed away on Wednesday, April 16, 2026, at Shepherd Premier of Robinson, IL.

He was born on April 8, 1935, in Lawrence County, the son of William David "Willie" Thacker & Lena (Baker) Thacker. There were nine children in the Thacker household, and the farm didn’t care how old you were. You worked it. A stick and a wagon wheel ring made up the whole of his toy collection as a boy. He knew it, and he never forgot it. These early years forged something in him: a frugality that never softened, a perfectionism that never quit, and a bone-deep understanding that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing all the way through.

He graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1953, and on November 6, 1954, he married Betty Jane Black. From there, Paul built a life the only way he knew how: by throwing himself into it. He went to work farming with his family and driving a truck for Ashland Oil in Mount Carmel before being transferred to Flora. In 1969, he made the move that would define the bulk of his working years, taking a position at the Marathon refinery and settling the family in Oblong. He worked the tank farm area and rose to PDU shift foreman. In addition to his full-time position, he and his son Marty purchased a gas/service station in Oblong in 1978. They operated Thacker Marathon until 1984. When Paul finally retired in 1993, Marathon brought him back as a contractor. He sampled tanks until he was 80 years old. Some men slow down when the work is finished. Paul just looked for the next thing.

The “next thing” was finally more time with family. So much of his time with his kids came through working side by side. It took retirement to slow him down enough to really build those relationships. For example, when Marty took up drag racing, Paul was skeptical. Ten races later, he was getting his hands dirty as a bona fide crew member trying to figure out how to make the car go faster! Also, when his son Rob transferred to Singapore with his job, Paul and Betty enjoyed a trip there to visit him and his family. They also enjoyed trips to Louisiana to see daughter Sheryl and her family.

Beyond his work and his family, Paul had always kept one eye on the community around him. He worshipped his Lord alongside his wife Betty at the Oblong First Christian Church for years. He volunteered at the forest preserve, cutting trees and caring for the land, much of it on his own. He gave himself to the Oblong Masonic Lodge, the Danville Consistory, the Ainad Shrine, the Oblong JCs, the Oblong Community Club, and the Oblong Ruritan Club. He was an active member in all and in a position of leadership in most. After all, if Paul believed in something, he gave himself to it without reservation.

But if Paul's community saw the fullness of that commitment, Betty had seen it longest. And when her health failed in her final years, that devotion never once wavered until she passed away on September 6, 2003. Paul would go on to marry Shirley J. (Vaughn) Zellers on April 30, 2005. They found a good life together, worshipping at Kirk Chapel Church, travelling, and keeping each other company through the years that remained. When Shirley's health failed, Paul cared for her the only way he knew how: all the way through. Shirley preceded him in death on May 7, 2018.

His final years were spent at Shepherd Premier Senior Living in Robinson. Dementia and the physical ravages of a stroke is a cruel thing to watch in a man who had always been so deliberate. But good days still came. Marty and Karen would sometimes take him out for a drive—windows down, Willie's Roadhouse on the radio, a Dairy Queen somewhere in the mix—and those afternoons on the back roads gave him something no memory ward could. Just family, just music, just the land he had worked all his life rolling past the window.

Paul was a man who worked hard and committed himself fully to that which he was entrusted. But he would have been the first to tell you that none of it originated with him. The capacity to give yourself completely, to care without keeping score, to press through and finish what you started—that kind of grace has a source. And so when Paul Thacker closed his eyes for the last time, we are confident that the One he had served throughout his 91 years met him with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

He is survived by his children, Rob & Marlene Thacker, Sheryl McMillan, and Marty & Karen Thacker; his grandchildren, Paige & Jericho Dennis, Grayson Thacker, Kelcey Thacker, Mitchell Thacker, Cole Chipman, Camden Thacker, and Abby Chipman; his great-grandchildren, Brandon Chenevert, Bretton Chenevert, Krison Graham, Kellen Dennis, Rowyn Dennis, and Storey Dennis; his great-great-grandchildren, Sophia Chenevert and Emeri Bordelon; his sister & brother-in-law, Norma Jean & Larry Shacklee; his sisters-in-law, Leona Thacker and Louise Black; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his two wives; two granddaughters, Charity King and Shannon Graham; his siblings, Mervin Thacker, Melvin Thacker, Lenore Vaughn, Junior Thacker, Edith Mugrage, Kenneth Thacker, and Mary Lou Broadwater; and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

A time of visitation will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23rd, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. A Masonic service will immediately follow at 2:00 p.m., followed by a funeral service officiated by Celebrant Curt Goodwine. Burial will be in the Waggoner Cemetery, rural Chauncey, IL. Memorial contributions may be made to "The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research" with memorial envelopes available at the funeral home. Memorials may also be made online using the link below.