Obituary: Wyant

Naomi (Burnette) Wyant, 89, of Gibson City and formerly of Arrowsmith died at 2:14 am Friday, January 23, 2026, at Goldwater Care, Gibson City.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Colfax with Pastor Wendell Wardell officiating.  Burial will follow in Wiley Cemetery, Colfax.

Visitation will be 9:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday also at the Memorial Home.  The family suggests memorials be given to Transitions Hospice or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

Naomi was born on May 8, 1936, in Kentucky, the daughter of Jesse and Audrey (Sapp) Burnette.  She married Delmar Wayne Wyant on April 5, 1953.  He preceded her in death on March 2, 2023.

Survivors include her children, Michael (Tricia) Wyant, Colfax, Mark Wyant, Kahoka, MO, Sherry Grieff, Mt. Vernon, IA, Kathy (Dave) Allen, Sunman, IN, Bill (Sara) Wyant, Oakley, IL and Tena (Russell) Snearly, Fairbury, fourteen grandchildren, twenty-one great-grandchildren and one sister, Jessie LaVerne Cavitt, Normal.

She is preceded in death by two brothers, William Burnette, Vernon Burnette (who died in infancy), and two sisters, Bernice Jones and Delores Suttle.

When her children were young, Naomi was a homemaker, and she and Wayne raised their family on several farms near Colfax and Farmer City, IL. Later, she worked as a cook at Octavia Manor, union custodian at the Clinton Power Station, teller at Arrowsmith Bank, sales representative at The Sewing Center, and as a customer service representative at Kohl’s Department Store. Naomi was a talented seamstress and enjoyed crafting, vegetable gardening, canning, cooking, writing poetry, growing flowers, birdwatching, and quilting with the Hands All Around Quilting Guild. An excellent cook, she will be remembered for her many delicious dishes, especially her homemade noodles and banana pudding. A loving woman with immense patience and kindness, Naomi will be missed by all who knew her.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at Goldwater Care and Transitions Hospice for their loving care.