Loretta Colleen (McGee) Dunham

Loretta Colleen Dunham passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by family, July 23, 2023, in Chillicothe, Illinois.  She was born November 9, 1928, at the family home in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of James C. "Mack" McGee and the former Ollie Marie Case.  She married Irvin A. Pogue in 1946 and came to Chillicothe where she spent much of the rest of her life.  She married A. Keith Dunham in 1972.  

Colleen was a charter member of the Belles of Harmony, a chapter of Sweet Adelines, in Chillicothe - 1949, and in 1999 proudly received her 50 year pin as a member of Sweet Adelines.  In 1977 she was a member of the chorus that went to London, England, for the Sweet Adelines International competition. In 2005 she donated her collection of Belles of Harmony memorabilia to the Peoria Historical Society. 

She was an accomplished seamstress, beginning with making clothes for herself and her young children, later making hundreds and hundreds of clothing and craft items which she sold from her studio.  She and Keith were members of the Holiday Ramblers Trailer Club and traveled extensively.  

She is survived by three children, Marcia Farina, Chillicothe; Allen (Sue) Pogue, Pie Town, New Mexico; Sandy (Frank) Benningfield, Peoria; granddaughter, Kelly Nagy (Chillicothe); great-granddaughter, Abigail Nagy, Austin, Texas; stepson, Rusty (Doris) Dunham, Peoria; stepgrandchildren, Chris (Joy) Dunham, Duluth, Minnesota; stepgranddaughter, Susie (David) Neal, Peoria.  She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands and two sisters, Evelyn (McGee) Kay and Cynthia (McGee) Jackson.

Graveside Services will be 11:00 A.M. Monday, July 31, 2023, at LaHarpe Cemetery with Rev. Jim Clayton.

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