SHELBYVILLE, IL. — E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III

Shelbyville



E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III of Shelbyville died Friday (February 10, 2012) at 1:00 p.m. from injuries received as a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Ft. Myers, Florida.

He was born on September 28, 1949 in Shelbyville to the late Judge Edward C. Eberspacher, Jr. and Josephine Yantis Eberspacher. He married Jacqueline Dunaway July 1, 1972 in Shelbyville.  He graduated from Shelbyville High School and Culver Summer Naval School in 1967.  

He received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971, with high honors where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa academic fraternity.

He was a recipient of a Rotary International Scholarship and studied at the University of Tel Aviv, Remat Aviv, Israel, for over a year before entering law school. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois, College of Law, in 1974, and was admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court in 1974. He joined the firm of Dove & Dove, Attorneys at Law, as an associate that fall.  

He was admitted to the bar of the U. S. Supreme Court in 1981 and was admitted to practice before the Central and Southern Districts of the U. S. District Court in Illinois. In 1976, he was elected State's Attorney for Shelby County, Illinois, a position in which he served until 1980, when he became a partner with the firm of Dove & Dove.  

Thereafter, in addition to his general practice, he served as Special Prosecutor for Fayette County, Illinois, Special State's Attorney for Shelby County, Illinois, by appointment of the Chief Circuit Court Judge, and Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. In early 1985, he was appointed as one of three at-large Circuit Judges for the nine-county Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois and was elected to that office in 1986. In that capacity, he regularly presided in jury trials and contested bench trials throughout the 4th Circuit Court and in the First Municipal District for Cook County, Illinois.

In December of 1992, he returned to the general practice of law as a partner with Dove & Dove, Attorneys at Law. At Dove & Dove, Chris had the opportunity to practice law with the late Franklin Dove , the Honorable Michael P. Kiley, Douglas Dove, Walter B. Lookofsky, his daughter, Elizabeth Nohren, and Dustin L. Probst.  He was a member of the Shelby County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Chris and his wife, Jacqueline (Dunaway) Eberspacher have three children: Elizabeth E. Nohren, a member of the firm of Dove & Dove, Attorneys at Law and husband Jeffrey Nohren of Shelbyville; Catherine (Eberspacher) Gahl and husband Christopher Gahl of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Edward C. Eberspacher IV and wife Kathryn Eberspacher of Chicago. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Kanoa Christian Gahl, Kai Nicholas Gahl, William Jeffrey Nohren, Benjamin Edward Nohren and Olivia Rose Eberspacher, father and mother-in-law Bill and Gladys Dunaway of Shelbyville, brother David Eberspacher and wife Mary Jo of Mattoon, sister Jo Ann Challer and husband Marc of Coeur d'Alene, ID, several nieces and nephews

An active community member, he was a member of the Board of Directors of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Shelbyville, Lincoln Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America, the Shelbyville Rotary Club, and the Shelbyville Free Public Library. He was a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and served on the Board of Trustees for the church. He was a member of Jackson Lodge # 53 of Shelbyville, Consistory of Springfield and Ansar Shrine of Springfield.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 16 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lockart - Green Funeral Home in Shelbyville, Illinois. Masonic Rites will be held at 7:00 p.m.

The funeral will be held on Friday, February 17 at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Shelbyville, Illinois with Pastor Wade Helmkamp officiating.

Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery in Shelbyville, Illinois  

The family asks that contributions be made to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Boy Scouts of America-Troop 51 (Shelbyville), or Shelbyville Public Library.

Chris was a world traveler, visiting five continents and more than 25 countries during this 62 years of life. He was also a proud Eagle Scout, skilled hunter, snow skier, scuba diver, bridge player, sailor, and avid reader. Most importantly, he was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and community leader.

He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Condolences may be directed to the family at www.lockartgreenfuneralhome.com