Lawrence S. Poston

Lawrence S. Poston, 86, of Galena, IL, passed away on Friday, April 11, 2025. A memorial service will be held at Noon on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at Grace Episcopal Church, Galena. The Furlong Funeral Chapel in Galena is assisting the family. He was born on October 29, 1938, in Louisville, KY, to Lawrence and Nancy (Greene) Poston Jr. Poston self-described “faculty brat,” grew up in Galesburg, IL, and Norman, OK. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and continued his studies, earning a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University in 1963. In 1966, he married his wife of fifty-eight years, Carol Hoaglan, in Lincoln, NE, and she survives him. He taught at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for ten years before moving to the University of Illinois at Chicago, then known as Chicago Circle, from which he retired in 2004. Poston also served for two years as a staff member of the American Association of University Professors and remained active in the organization, including a term as second vice president. Additionally, he was involved with the Modern Language Association of America. A full-time resident of Galena since 2011, he and his wife Carol initially built their home as a summer residence in the Galena Territory six years earlier. He was a member of the Education and Scholarship Commission of the Galena Territory Foundation, where he reviewed applications for the Lend-a-Hand scholarship program, interviewing graduating seniors from Galena, River Ridge, and Scales Mound high schools. He often expressed that this role was a perfect capstone to his forty years in higher education, stating, “I learned why we have some wonderful students in our freshman classes and equally wonderful and dedicated teachers and staff to help prepare them for college.” He was also a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Galena. He is survived by his wife, Carol; a daughter, Rachel, who lives in the Chicago suburbs; son-in-law David Jesuit; and two grandchildren, Daniel Jesuit and Gianna Feiler. He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, Andrew, who passed away in infancy, and a daughter, Anne, who died in 2022. The family requests that memorial gifts be sent to the Education and Scholarship Commission of the Galena Territory Foundation, 2700 Territory Drive, Galena, IL.