Arthur E. Tessendorf

Arthur (Art) E. Tessendorf, of Freeport, Illinois, passed away on March 31, 2026. He was born September 15, 1942 in Freeport, Illinois. He lost his life to cancer after being diagnosed in 2018. He was the son of Elmer and Ruth (Hudson) Tessendorf, of Orangeville. Art married his high school sweetheart, Janet Laman, on October 26, 1963.

Art started his work career at Atwoods in Stockton. Then worked at Kelly Springfield in Freeport for 31 years until he retired in 1999. After that, he also worked for Barkau Automotive driving cars to auction and helping neighbors on their farms.

Art and Jan had six horses and enjoyed week-long trail rides and camping at Lake-Le-Aqua-Na. Art was the president of the RC Model Airplane club in Freeport and hand-built several airplanes he enjoyed flying at the fly field and around their home in Orangeville. He also enjoyed Reading Smoke Jensen books and spending time with family and friends. Art was very skilled at designing tools and equipment to make jobs easier. He had many wood projects he made by hand and welded lots of machinery for neighbors. Art loved telling jokes and was quite the prankster.

Art is survived by his wife Jan; daughters - Kim (fiancé James Ports) Robertson of Polo, IL and Lori (husband Todd McPeek) Tessendorf of Freeport, IL; sister - Sandy (Robert) Jordan of Freeport, IL; brother - Steve (partner Vanessa Topp) Tessendorf of Monroe, WI; three grandchildren - Daniel Jr. (Jessica) Robertson of Elgin, OK, Ashley Robertson of Denver, CO and Logan Tessendorf of Phoenix, AZ. He is also survived by two great grandchildren - Daniel III and Madison Robertson. Art had many cousins, nieces and nephews he enjoyed spending time with at family gatherings.

He is preceded in death by his mother and father.

Last, but definitely not least, we want to thank all the staff at SSM Health Monroe Hospital. They were wonderful and kept him comfortable until the end.

Art will be missed greatly, but he has left us with many wonderful memories to cherish.

There will be a visitation held on Thursday, April 9, 2026 from 3-6 pm at Walker Mortuary in Freeport.