East Peoria community mourns the loss of Humphrey

When many East Peorians think of Harold Humphrey, they remember the Sunnyland restaurant that bore his name.

But there was more to Harold than just burgers and fries.

Marilyn Humphrey remembers her husband as a man who was loyal, faithful and generous.

“If anybody needed anything he was there,” she said. “He was just a very generous and caring man.”

Harold died Aug. 16 after a three-year on-and-off battle with melanoma.

“He’d had it originally back in 2008 and we thought it was gone and taken care of,” Marilyn said. “About a year later, we found a couple spots.”

After this, she said, Harold was undergoing treatment and feeling well.

“Then in the third week of July, he was having some issues and we went to the emergency room and found out it had gone to his brain,” she said. “It was very shocking because he was doing fine and we thought everything was going to be fine. But within two or three months it spread to other spots of his body and his brain.”

Marilyn said her husband “did a little bit of everything.”

As well as being a restaurant owner, Harold served for two years in the U.S. Army and was an EMT with the Northern Tazewell Fire Protection District from 1980 to 1995. He operated Harold’s Computer Sales and Service, served on the board of the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce from 1994 to 2000, was one of three men who started the Sunnyland Business Association and, most recently, worked for several local funeral homes.

“He had a leadership quality about him,” Marilyn said. “He was very good at spur of the moment decisions and he always knew just what to do. That’s something I’ll definitely miss.

“He always wanted to be involved in everything. The hobbies always ended up turning into a business. He liked cars, so he sold cars. Computers were an interest, so he sold computers. When he was on the fire department, he sold scanners and radios.”

Still, most know him for Harold’s, the Sunnyland restaurant where doors closed permanently in March.

For some, it was their first job. Many remember the “‘A’ Lunch Bunch,” where free meals were given to students with good grades.

“He started there when it was Mr. Quick and he was manager there,” Marilyn said. “He was out of it a couple years and ended up coming back and taking over and it was a really big part of our lives. That was our life for a long time.”

After turning 62 and running the restaurant for 35 years, Harold decided to retire. He sold Harold’s March 1, 2005.

“It was sad. It really was,” Marilyn said. “Even after we sold it we went there every morning for coffee until they stopped serving breakfast.”
Marilyn said her husband was friendly and outgoing, but could be a little quick-tempered with his employees at times.

“There were times when something would set him off,” she said. “Some of the employees in the earlier years were a little afraid of him.”

The Humphreys’ daughter, Cynthia, grew up at the family business.

“By the time she started working there she was already sick of the food,” Marilyn said. “But after time she became assistant manager, and toward the end, she was really there a lot.”

It was definitely a family affair, said Marilyn, who has worked with PNC Bank for 32 years. She helped out whenever possible.

But Harold’s, she added, came to be about family to more than just the Humphreys.

“We actually had generations working at the store,” she said. “We had kids who worked for us in the ‘70s who actually met and married and we had former workers’ children come back and work for us. He loved that. It was great to have a second generation come back and work for us. Harold loved that.”

Marilyn said there was one thing all of his jobs and hobbies had in common.

“It was always working with people that he liked the most,” she said.

Harold spoke with the East Peoria Times-Courier in March after the business closed.

He said he had “fond memories” of the restaurant he ran with his wife and daughter.

“We always had a good crew and great employees,” he said. “We had some really memorable times with the car club and had a very good rapport with the customers.”