John Pilbeam

DAPHNE, AL—John Pilbeam, 79, of Daphne, AL passed away peacefully on May 30, 2026. He was born on March 8, 1947 in Blue Island, IL, the son of Edward Pilbeam and Marion (Quinn) Pilbeam. John always had an interest in planes. He was proud and also a hard worker. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966-1970 during the Vietnam War. Later on he pursued his pilot license in the Kankakee area flying Cessna planes. In the late 1990s he retired from the ACME Steel plant on the south side of Chicago after 30+ years. It was at Sears, where he worked for another decade or so, where he met his beloved wife, Pam. He loved his music loud. Being a drummer in a band along with his four brothers, pictures would occasionally fall off the walls of his parents house when they played back in Peotone. John also loved hotrods and knew how to work on them.
John is survived by his children: Tracy Shaffer, Andy (Tiffany) Pilbeam, Jared Pilbeam, Hayley (Greg) Henke and Garret (Cara) Pilbeam; his grandchildren: Ally (Christian) Rettig, Nick (Anna) Shaffer, Keely Henke, Scotland Henke, Finley Pilbeam and Ace Pilbeam; his great-grandchildren: Cooper Rettig, Dean Rettig and Thomas Shaffer; his brothers: Jim (Audrey) Pilbeam, Jeff (Diane) Pilbeam, Jerry (Susan) Pilbeam and Joe (Julie) Pilbeam; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife and his sister, Julie Fore.
The burial will be held at Peotone Cemetery on July 3, 2026 at 2 p.m.
Afterwards everyone is invited to Jared's house in Wilmington for food and drinks.