Very sad news.

Dennis Richrath
EAST PEORIA - Dennis Mark Richrath, 60, of East Peoria passed away at 9:03 a.m. Saturday, June 1, 2013, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.He was born Feb. 14, 1953, in Peoria to Curt and Eunice (Leuthold) Richrath.Surviving are his mother of East Peoria; one son, Alex (Jennifer) Richrath of Mapleton; one grandson, Zenek Richrath; and two brothers, Gary (Justine) Richrath of White Oaks, Calif., and Wade (Dawn) Richrath of East Peoria.He was preceded in death by his father and one sister, Sherry Lococo.Dennis worked for Caterpillar Inc. for 30 years, retiring as a machinist in 2002.He was a member of the United Auto Workers Local 974 in East Peoria and the American Pool Association. Dennis enjoyed fishing, hunting, trap shooting, playing softball and gardening. He was a fan of the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Cardinals.His memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 6, 2013, at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory, 405 Rusche Ave., Creve Coeur. Visitation will be one hour before the service.Memorial contributions may be made to an education fund for his grandson that is being established at CEFCU.To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com. - See more at: www.legacy.com/obitu aries/pjstar/obituar y.aspx?pid=165160546 #sthash.DxPnrp4

Wrong Richrath. And that was from 2013.And there is nothing online but he did die today.

Gary did pass away the 13th of September. I know his brother Wade quite well. A little piece of Peoria's rock history passed.

@cjsummers :Gotta laugh a little. While it wasn't a chart topper, no mention of Gary's writing their most iconic song "Riding the Storm Out".

"riding the storm out" was the song my husband and I would sing when we hit hard times.@emtronics- I agree with your assessment. ps "keep pushin'" and "back on the road again" are damn good songs!

Sad news. Gary was a very unique player, indeed.

So sad. REO Speedwagon were part of the soundtrack of my life, back in the days, and they still get frequent play on my iTunes. Hard to pick a favorite tune, but "Like You Do" is right up there. RIP, Gary.

Sorry for his family.

Is anybody old enough to remember Suburban 9 to 5 ?

This is a pic I took of Gary jamming at Elandorf in 2014. It's kind of blurry. My condolences to the family.

The pic didn't load...oh well.

One of the best moments of my life REO was the soundtrack to it.