William Matheson Ahlenius

William “Bill” Matheson Ahlenius was born on July 26, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, to William Ahlenius and Kathryn Ahlenius, née Trenkle. As the oldest of five siblings, Bill was always a supportive older brother. A gifted student, Bill graduated from Bloomington High School in 1951, and entered the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at just the age of 16 through the U.S. Navy’s NROTC Program. Once there, one of his mentors quickly recognized his extraordinary mental abilities and recommended that he apply for Mensa International, an organization Bill went on to become a proud member of for 40+ years. Bill graduated from the U of I in 1955. After graduation, he served as an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1959, ultimately reaching the rank of Commander. From 1955 to 1957, he was stationed on the Destroyer Escort APD 128. Then, from 1957 to 1959, he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he taught Engineering Drawing and Descriptive Geometry. While teaching at the Naval Academy, Bill began his pursuit of a law degree and enrolled in Georgetown Law School. Upon transitioning from active-duty to the Naval Reserves, he transferred back to the University of Illinois College of Law Urbana-Champaign to finish his legal studies—all the while continuing to teach by serving in the College of Engineering at the U of I. Bill graduated law school in 1961 in the top 5% of his class. Passing the bar on his first try, he initially took a job at the Davenport, Iowa, firm of Betty, Newman, and Heninger before moving to Peoria, where in 1962 he took a position at Swain, Johnson, and Gard. He spent the rest of his career at that firm, making partner and becoming a well-respected pillar of the Peoria legal community. Bill retired in 1997, but all throughout his life and into his retirement, he loved challenging puzzles, board games, trivia contests, and sharing those passions with his friends and family. He also was enthusiastic about gourmet cooking; participating in Arrow Investments Stock Club; and keeping up with local, state, and national politics. Sadly, Bill passed away on December 18, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Jackie Ahlenius, née Painter; his daughters Kristie (Fraser) Engerman of Dunlap, IL; Lisa (Craig) Nafziger of Stanford, IL; his granddaughters Blair Engerman (Dunlap, IL), Brooke Engerman (New York City, NY), and Kirsten Nafziger (Pleasant Gap, PA). He is also survived by his younger brothers Chuck Ahlenius (Decatur, IL), Bob Ahlenius (Dallas, TX), and John Ahlenius (Denver, CO). He is preceded in death by both of his parents and his younger sister, Susan Pegg. A private military funeral will be held at Camp Butler National Cemetery on December 27, 2024.