Service next week for Elgin homeless blogger Doug Henke
A memorial service for Elgin's "houseless, not homeless" blogger Doug Henke will take place next week.
The memorial at 6 p.m. Friday is being held by Street Reach, a ministry for the homeless and others in need, in the courtyard of Vineyard Church, 220 Division St. in Elgin. People will be required to wear face masks and practice social distancing at the memorial, which is open to the community. Street Reach Director Joe Misek will lead the service.
Street Reach typically offers dinner Friday nights in fall, winter and spring, which Henke attended on and off, said volunteer Greg Schiller, who'd known him for about three years. "He was known by people, but many of his friends were from his blog," Schiller said.
Henke, who would have turned 58 on June 12, wrote about his life living in dwellings in the woods in his "Arthur: Notes from the edge" blog on Facebook. His last entry was May 23. His body was found June 11 by Elgin police after the Daily Herald contacted the police department about Henke's welfare.
Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said the body was identified as Henke's with 98% certainty by a forensic odontologist. A preliminary autopsy was pending the results of the toxicology report, and there were "no overt, outward signs of homicide," Russell said.
Henke, who grew up in South Elgin, said he was estranged from his relatives, who didn't respond to requests for comment. Henke said he served in the U.S. Navy for a little over a year in his 20s and worked in accounting but either quit or lost jobs over time. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2012 from Columbia College Missouri, which has a remote campus at Elgin Community College.
He was candid about suffering from alcoholism and bipolar disorder. He was also HIV-positive.