Phyllis Irene Gruber

Phyllis was born June 22, 1921, in Magnolia, IL, the daughter of Myron and Myrtle Piper Himmelrich. She married Charles Gruber on October 8, 1943. He died on February 23, 1968.

Surviving are her children, Ronald (Cheryl) Gruber of Normal; Linda (Roy) Keller of Camdenton, MO; and Dianne (Mike) Poremski of Morton; seven grandchildren, Kathryn Gruber of Normal; John (Abigail) Gruber of Williamsfield, Lori Troman (Steve Dubosh) of Bloomington, Kim Sigler of Normal, Kristin (Neil) Hutchinson of Loveland, OH; Cheryl (Bo) Baer of Salem, Greg (Biviana) Poremski of El Paso, TX; twelve great grandchildren-Breanna, Aaron, and Christopher McCaleb, Michael (Sarah) Troman, Lindsey (Travis) Carrier, Jessica and Morgan Sigler, Lydia Hutchinson, Emily and Allison Baer, Silvia and Ian Poremski;five great-great-grandchildren; Natalie, Abbygail, and Brianna Troman; Loralei and Temperance Carrier. She was preceded in death by her parents, her spouse, and a brother, Ardell.

Phyllis worked for many years at Illinois State University as a Dispatcher for the Police Department.

The most important work of Phyllis's life was caring for her family. Family was everything to Phyllis. Her favorite saying was that in 100 years it will not matter what kind of house she lived in, how much money she had, or what her clothes were like – only that the world may be a better place because she made a difference in the life of a child. Phyllis had a deep love of birds and bird watching-and kept them well fed with her bird feeders and bird baths. She also loved all dogs. Phyllis's sweet, sassy, and feisty personality will be missed by all who knew her.

Funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, March 2, 2017 at Calvary United Methodist Church, Normal. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will follow the service in East Lawn Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to Calvary United Methodist Church, Normal. Online condolences may be shared with the family at eastlawn-bloomington.com.