Don Koeneman passes away in Belleville
<span>One of Chester and Randolph County's prominent citizens has died.</span>
<span>Former Randolph County State's Attorney Don Koeneman passed away Friday at age 80 at Memorial Hospital in Belleville.</span>
<span>Koeneman founded the Koeneman Law Offices in Chester in 1972. In 1982, his son, Paul Koeneman, entered the family law practice followed by grandson Christopher Koeneman in 2014.</span>
<span>"I knew him very well, both professionally and socially," said Ed Fisher, an attorney with Fisher, Kerkhover, Coffey and Gremmels Law Office in Chester. "From a professional viewpoint, I would say he was a very able attorney and a strong advocate for his client.</span><span><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span>"He had high integrity. What he told you, you could count on."</span>
<span>Elected State's Attorney in 1968, Don Koeneman received the highest possible peer review rating (AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell) from his fellow attorneys and judges, an honor only awarded to the top five percent of attorneys nationwide.</span>
<span>"I certainly dealt with him quite a bit and all of the lawyers in Randolph County are a tight-knit group," said current Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "It's sad to see anyone pass away and Don was a very nice man and I express my condolences to his family."</span>
<span>Don Koeneman was admitted to practice law in the state and federal courts in Illinois and Missouri, and was also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.</span>
<span>"He was a very good lawyer," Walker said. "We have a unique situation in this county where all the attorneys get along for the most part.</span><span><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span>"I would say that all of us (state's attorneys) are in a fraternity, so to speak, and it's sad to see any part of the group pass away."</span>
<span>Don Koeneman was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Chester, the American Legion Post 487 in Chester, the Elks Club, the Randolph County Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, American Bar Association, and National District Attorneys Association.</span>
<span>He was a Mason and a Shriner, and also served on the Chester District 139 Board of Education.</span>
<span>"I grew up here in Chester, so he was a pillar of our community," said Chester Grade School Principal Tim Lochhead. "He was somebody who helped others and not just for their legal advice.</span>
<span>"He was helpful in many other ways."</span>
<span>In addition, Don Koeneman was a founding member of the Chester Country Club, vice president of the Bank of Evansville, and served on the board of directors of the First National Bank of Steeleville for many years.</span>
<span>Services will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 21 at First Presbyterian Church in Chester, with the Rev. Edwin Reuter officiating. Interment will be in Paradise Cemetery in Steeleville.</span>
<span>Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Pechacek-McClure Funeral </span>Home in Chester and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church.
<span>Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Chester or Hospice of Southern Illinois. The full obituary is on page 6 of this week's issue of the Herald Tribune.</span>
<span>Calls seeking comment to the Koeneman Agency in Chester, where Don Koeneman's sister-in-law, Jo Koeneman, works - and Koeneman Law Offices were not immediately returned.</span>