Myrtle J. McWhorter, 90 of Aledo, died Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at Friendship Manor. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m., Monday, March 17, at Speer Funeral Home, Aledo. Burial will be in Aledo Cemetery. Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Churches of Mercer County Food Pantry or the Mercer County Crisis Center.
Myrtle Joanne was born on June 29, 1934, in Aledo, Illinois, to Clarence and Treva Loumita “Lou” (Doss) Mizner. After her father’s death, she was raised by her stepfather, Harold Wagoner. She married James McWhorter on January 15, 1954. He preceded her in death on August 25, 2005.
Myrtle was very talented, working with her sisters in Upholstery and working with the Mercer County Recorders Office. But her heart was in her poetry and writings. She lived her life through pen and paper. Each moment of her life and her family’s life was marked with a poem or letter. Myrtle loved with all her heart, family and friends alike. She also enjoyed crossword puzzles and crafting.
Those left to cherish Myrtle’s memory include her children and spouses, Randy and Vickie McWhorter of Rock Island, Kevin McWhorter of Clarence, Missouri, and Stacy and Brian Dillavou of Aledo; a sister, Micky Lawson of Geneseo; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Bryanna and Chris Paige and children, Cayden, Grayson, and Oliver, Blake Dillavou, Tyler McWhorter, Wendi and Shawn Riecke and children, Ben and Olivia, Brandi Boyer and children, Reece, Maddox, and Levi, Jason Stockwell, and Steven and Dita McWhorter and daughter, Angel. Myrtle was preceded in death by her parents; husband; grandson, Dustin McWhorter; and siblings, Joyce Kernan, Shirley “Annie” Kiddoo, and Clarence and Alvin Mizner.