Stella M. Gilbreth

GALVA - Stella Marie Gilbreth, 81, of Galva, died at 12:10 a.m., Thursday, February 5, 2026, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria surrounded by her family.

A visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m., Monday, February 9 at Rux Funeral Home in Galva with recitation of the rosary at 4:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 10 at St. John The Beloved Parish in Galva. Celebrant will be Msgr. Michael Bliss. Cremation will be accorded following the services, and inurnment will take place at a later date at the Galva Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the family for a memorial to be established.

She was born April 20, 1944, in Lebanon, KY the daughter of James Sherman and Anna Rebecca “Becky” (Spalding) Raley. She married Wendell Gilbreth on July 5, 1991. Survivors include her husband of Galva, her special grandson, Chad (Brandy) Gilbreth of Peru and their daughters Stella, Sunny, and Goldie, her son, Andrew Burwell of Chicago, daughter, Kim Burwell of Springfield, IL and Kim’s children, Jacob Burwell and Juan Burwell and his daughter Devyn, brother, Tom (Sandy) Raley of Cedar Rapids, IA, her sister, Sharon (Donnie) Milliken of Galva and Wendell’s two daughters, Linda (Joe) Hilerio of Orlando and Connie Risk of Rockford and her daughters, Ashley Doyle and Kylie Risk. She was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband Joe Burwell, a son, Robert Joe Burwell, her brothers Joe and James “Sherm” and four sisters; Shirley Norberg, Becky Holmes, Kathy Thompson, and Cora Burwell.

Stella never met a stranger. Everywhere she went she carried an open heart. She was deeply loved by everyone who knew her, because love was simply how she lived. Stella loved Galva. She was a beacon of joy and always cherished the moments she greeted people around town.

A faithful and devout Catholic, she lived her beliefs through compassion, humility, and service to others. Her legacy of love, faith, and kindness lives on in all who were blessed to know her.

Her greatest act of love was quiet and unwavering. When her grandson needed her most, she chose him without hesitation. To him, she was not just a grandmother, but a mother in every sense of the word.

She loved deeply and selflessly, always thinking of others, always showing up with generosity. Her legacy is not only in the lives she touched, but in the love she gave so freely and the example she leaves behind, of kindness and a heart that never closed.

Stella means a star. She would want us all to remember her as a shining star smiling down from above.

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