Born January 2, 1933 in Peoria to William Forest Croy and Lillie Margaret (Kelley) Croy, Connie married her high school sweetheart Russell Leonard Mason on January 18, 1953 at Kingston Mines Methodist Church. Russell and Connie were united in matrimony during the Korean War as Russ served United States Air Force support efforts in Japan, and Connie worked as a secretary for Caterpillar. Russell died April 14, 2005 in Peoria. In God’s sovereign plan, Connie died exactly 19 years later, on April 14. Connie was also preceded in death by her parents, and sisters Kathryn Matilda Jenkins and Betty Margaret Osborn, as well as her brothers, Robert Dale Croy and William Thomas Croy.
Surviving are her three sons, Russell Kirk (Kelly) Mason of Marietta, Georgia, Dale Thomas (Karen) Mason of Burlington, Kentucky, and Shawn Bradley (Michelle) Mason of Knoxville, Illinois; ten grandchildren, Ariel Baker, Hutson Mason, and Daulton Mason, all of Georgia; April Craymer, Kristin Hatton, Analisa Winslow, and Taylor Mason, all of Kentucky, and Reagan Mason (Montana), Morgan Trocki (Tennessee) and Colton Mason (Wisconsin). Also surviving are 24 great-grandchildren ages “pre-born” to 14.
In addition to working in the offices of Caterpillar, Inc. for 10 years, Connie was strategic in helping Russell to launch and serve thousands of families through Russ Mason State Farm, (Peoria). Her sons remember her as a passionate mother and a constant encourager in their education and growth in the Christian faith. She was a member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria. She also was a member of the Red Hat Society of Peoria, and a former member of the board of the Rural Peoria Council on Aging in Bellevue. As a youth she was raised on a very small farm near present-day Lake Camelot and had all the normal joys and responsibilities of farm life during the Great Depression. She enjoyed the farm’s animals, especially long rides on her spirited horse, a Tobiano Paint named Prince. Connie was initially educated in the Harkers Corner one-room schoolhouse about a mile walk from her home. Afterward she attended Glasford’s Timber Hollis High School where she met and fell in love with the first and only boy she ever dated—the red headed basketball player, Russell. Connie and Russ built unforgettable family memories by tent and RV camping. She also did her best to “hold on tight” to her husband as they rode together on an enduro motorcycle and led the boys on high elevation motorcycle treks over remote mountain trails in the Colorado Rockies. Her sons also remember Connie as a great cook, and that she loved raising award-winning Dalmatians, refinishing antiques, and creating stained glass window art.
Connie came to trust Jesus as her personal Savior at a Youth for Christ rally which Russ escorted her to while they were dating. Her sons and their families invite all who knew her to attend a celebration of her life service, which will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, this Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. The Rev. Kerry Frantz will officiate. Visitation will be held from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Kingston Mines Cemetery. Arrangements have been entrusted to Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes in Pekin. To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com
Memorial contributions may be made, in lieu of flowers, to ministries that were important to Russ and Connie; Grace Presbyterian Church of Peoria, and Peoria-area Youth for Christ.
(The family wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to the following for their Christlike help and service to Connie as she advanced toward Heaven during her final years on earth; Seminary Manor and The Kensington (of Galesburg), Dr. Barry Miller, Garden Court Alzheimer’s Care, and Pekin Home Health.)
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