Deceased Name: Karl Oller, 69; retired Roxana police chief

Karl Kenneth Oller, a retired police chief in Roxana, died Tuesday from complications of emphysema at Alton Memorial Hospital. He was 69 and lived in Roxana. Mr. Oller was born in Morrisonville. At the age 17, he moved to Roxana and began working at the Olin Corporation. Mr. Oller later enlisted in the Army and was discharged in the late 1950s. Mr. Oller met Dolores "Dee" Durbin of Alton at a bowling alley; the couple married in 1971. Mr. Oller started his career as a police officer in 1968 with the village of Roxana. After four years, he and his wife started a small grocery in Alton. Mr. Oller later returned to the police department and continued his duties as an officer. In 1991, he was named chief of police and served in that position until he retired in 1994. "I've known Karl for a long time, and he was a very personable person who was always easygoing and easy to get along with," said a longtime friend, Nona Austin of Roxana. "He filled the shoes of police chief just fine and did the job well." Mr. Oller was a member of the Madison County Police Association, Wood River Moose Lodge 1349 and the Eagles Lodge in Alton. In his spare time, Mr. Oller was an avid fisherman and hunter. Among survivors are his wife, Dolores Oller; two daughters, Lisa Schuetz of Alton and Stacy Dooling of Wood River; a brother, Robert Oller of Alton; two sisters, Peggy Scherff of Bethalto and Shirley Brangenberg of Charlotte, Mich.; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A funeral was Friday at Marks Mortuary in Wood River. Burial was in Wanda Cemetery in South Roxana. Memorial contributions may be made to D.A.R.E, c/o Roxana Police Department, 400 South Central Avenue, Roxana, Ill., 62084.

He was born in Morrisonville, Christian County, Illinois the son of Henry Oller and Vera Esther Nussman Oller. He was one of the younger of twelve kids. (Willis Oller June 7, 2008)