Kirby E. Willems, 68 of New Windsor, died Thursday, May 28, 2026, at Trinity, Rock Island, Illinois. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 2, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Matherville, Illinois. Visitation will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m., Monday, June 1, at Speer Funeral Home, Aledo, with rosary starting at 4 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Tri-County Ambulance Service or to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Kirby Eugene was born on September 26, 1957, to Richard and Valarie (Naslund) Willems. He graduated from Winola High School in 1975 before earning two associate’s degrees from Black Hawk College. Kirby and Cleta Devlin were married on August 10, 1985, in Matherville at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. They later went to China in 1996, 1998, and 2003 to adopt their three daughters.
Kirby worked for John Deere for over forty years in the Foundry, Proving Grounds, and the Test Lab most recently. Kirby had an analytical mind, was a good problem solver, and very detailed oriented. His family treasures the dollhouses and wooden Christmas ornaments he made for them. He was a part of the Corvette Club, and served on the New Windsor Fire Department, New Windsor Communications and New Windsor Cemetery Board, often as their secretary and treasurer. In earlier years, Kirby played in the Mercer County Junior Sheriff’s Softball League. He also loved building and shooting rockets off with his brother Kevin, working outside, especially mowing the yard.
Those left to cherish Kirby’s memory include his wife, Cleta; his daughters, Christianna, Kalena, and Karissa; mother, Valarie Willems; siblings, Kevin Willems, Kathy and Randy Kidd, and Kris and Jon Dohrmann; and a sister-in-law, Debbie Willems. He was preceded in death by his dad and his brother, Keith.