Former Oregon businessman murdered

By Vinde Wells

vwells@oglecounty

news.com

A former Oregon businessman, murdered last week in Loves Park, was remembered by his family and friends June 6.

Funeral services for Byron native Joseph Pendergrass, 59, former owner of Jay’s Drive-In, were held Monday afternoon at Heartland Community Church, Rockford.

Pendergrass was stabbed in the Advanced Medical Rehabilitation parking lot on Windsor Road in Loves Park around 6:30 p.m. May 31, and later pronounced dead at Rockford Memorial Hospital.

Roland Romeo Breault, 52, Rockford, an acquaintance of Pendergrass, was arrested a short time later and is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to Winnebago County Court records.

He is being held in the Winnebago County Jail on $1 million bond, and a hearing is set for June 30.

Pendergrass purchased Jay’s Drive-In, 107 W. Washington St., Oregon, when he was 26 years old and owned it for more than 20 years.

He sold it to his niece, Vicky Wilken, and her husband Terry in 2006.

“Joe had a really dynamic personality and everyone liked him,” Terry Wilken said. “Whenever you are at a large gathering, it seemed like everyone wanted to talk to Joe. You only had a few minutes, but you seemed to want more time.”

After the Wilkens took over the drive-in, Pendergrass financed it for a year so they could get the business going, he said.

“Those are the things about Joe that people don’t know. He always went above and beyond for the people he loved.”

Pendergrass was raised in Byron and graduated from Byron High School in 1975.