She was born April 2, 1938 in Peoria to Cyriel and Dorothy (Hunt) Dobbelaire. She married James “Pike” Ahten on Aug. 25, 1957 in East Peoria. He passed away Jan. 9, 2008 in East Peoria. She was also preceded in death by her parents, one great-granddaughter, Sunny Rae, one sister, Deloris Milner, and one brother, James “Hopp” Dobbelaire.
Survivors include three sons: Gregg (Pam) Ahten of East Peoria, Bryan (Julie) Ahten of North Pekin, Darren Ahten of Morton, four grandchildren: Jacob, Nicholas, Sara, and Christopher. She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren: Kelela, Vinny, Liv, Emma, Ella, Couri, Harper, Clyde, Eros, Elton, Apollo, one brother, Charles (Jo) Dobbleaire of East Peoria, and one sister, Verna Gibson of Chillicothe.
Ila worked for Illinois Bell/AT&T for over 40 years retiring in 1995. She was a member of the East Peoria Historical Society, the Red Hat Society, and the East Peoria Women’s Club.
Visitation will be Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Remmert Funeral Home in East Peoria. Cremation rites will be accorded following the visitation with a private graveside service in Swan Lake Memory Gardens at a later date.
Memorials may be made to the East Peoria Historical Society or St Jude Midwest Affiliate.
