Lillian Stees Ditzler

Lillian Jeanette Stees Ditzler of Freeport, after living a full life to 94 years, passed from this earthly life into her eternal life in Heaven with her Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ, who she loved & cherished above all else. Her faith was very strong & steadfast, always believing & trusting in Him.

Lillian was born on September 21, 1931 in Lena, IL to Emma (Lopp) and Murray Howard, and came from a large family of 13 children. Her father died without her memory at 2 years old, never knowing him, so she was raised by her mother and was looked after by her older siblings, Marian Pfeiffer, Myrtle Heinrich, Millie Eggemeier, Jim & Johnnie Howard. The family lived mostly around the Freeport area, although Emma & Lillian moved to Scales Mound & the Hanover area for a while, running a fish-selling business out of a truck near the Mississippi river. After moving back to Freeport, in many different locations around town, one being a house where the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Square is now. For a while, Lill and her mom lived at the Senate Hotel while Emma was the main cook & young Lill loved doing dishes, which led to other work at Young's Cafe. She was nearing high school graduation when she had emergency appendicitis surgery & needed to drop classes. Later, she married her high school sweetheart, Gerald Stees, at the Church of the Brethren. They lived in Freeport & had a son, Craig Stees in 1951 and a daughter, Donna Jo in 1954. They moved to a house they built on Rink Road, within the Pearl City school district. They loved living in the country with close neighbors & friends, including the Heinrich family, the Fosler family, and the Vosses, to name a few. Lillian was a den mother for the Cub Scout boys, working on activities & building good relationships and character.

In the early 60's, the whole family left for California, packed and ready to move there, camping along the way. Not finding work in Santa Barbara, they stayed in Texas with friends but ended up heading back to Freeport to live and stay. Education was very important to her. Not only did she pursue her own, completing her GED, and her associate's degree at HCC, and earning a bachelor's degree from Western University. She wanted others to get their education as well, regardless of their circumstances. After starting as a teacher's aide at Douglas Elementary school, with Vera Johansen, she went on to help other students to achieve their GED, by becoming a teacher in this great organization. She taught math, which she excelled in, and the constitution for 35 years at HCC. She helped countless students earn their GED certificate so they could attain better employment & opportunities. She made a big difference & positive impact on people she cared so deeply about & made many new friends along the way. She blessed them all with her skills, caring, & loving personality.

Sadly, she went through a very difficult period, when after 33 years together, she and Gerry separated. Both remarried years later. Lillian married Richard (Dick) Ditzler on December 26, 1991. They had known each other most of their young adult lives, him being her former brother-in-law. They became members of Park Hills EF church, where they attended regularly. After retirement, they traveled all over the U.S., enjoying their time-share places everywhere they stayed and wintered on the beach at Destin, Florida, her favorite place to watch the sunset every night & count the pelicans flying overhead.

They had close friends, Alice & Lyle Dahms & Jackie & Jerry Watson that they frequently played cards with & went out to eat somewhere.

Golfing was one of Lillian's favorite activities and became quite good at it. She was one of the biggest fans of the Chicago Cubs, always watching the games and cheering them on. She was fortunate to witness their World Series win in 2016.

She became a widow in 2014 when Dick passed away. During that same year, Dick's son David passed away. It was a very difficult time for the family. Reflection and healing came slowly, and in the winter of 2014, Donna & Tom helped her back to Pelican beach in Florida, with more friends to be made. They got her back home to Freeport each spring for 6 years, until 2020.

Lillian always enjoyed get-togethers with family and friends hosting, sharing a meal, & delicious desserts that she made.

She loved Krape Park and would drive across town to walk the trails, nearly every day, with the aide of her walker, for exercise & enjoy nature and the beautiful park features. Her love of nature was beyond words, especially birds, butterflies and flowers, and her many gardens she tended. She enjoyed sitting on her back deck, feeding & watching the birds, reading her Bible, praying for others, working on crosswords & Sudoku, having a meal & a hot cup of coffee. She cherished these simple pleasures.

She had good neighbors & a quiet neighborhood. She loved her home but required much more care after some hospital stays and growing weaker, so she moved to Oakley Courts mid-summer and had another opportunity to make more new friends. She loved all the staff, nurses, CNA's, kitchen help, activities especially Bingo, and programs they provided. They loved her and she loved them. Eventually, Hospice helped with extra care, all the way to the end. She had many visitors & hugs were always first thing given, and again with every good-bye.

Thank you to everyone that was involved in her life, she was a very special God loving Christian woman who was blessed her whole life. She had a beautiful smile, kind words and a caring heart. She will be dearly missed by everyone who was blessed to have known her. As her daughter, I loved her all my life, cherished our times together, and will hold wonderful memories, forever in my heart.

She is survived by her son, Craig (friend Alyson) Stees, Donna (Tom) Herring, sister-in-law Gloria Stees Howarth, a blended family, Gigi Ditzler, Dawn (Todd) Schwarzkopf, Deb (Jeff) McGuire.

Grandchildren: Sterling Stees, Austin Stees, Jessa (Nathan) Ovitt, Calen (Amber) Herring, Lindsay (John) Sanders, Sara (Dave) Thompson, Mitchell (Brittany) Schwarzkopf, Chelsea (friend Ilias) Schwarzkopf, Trey (fiance Jaylynn) Schwarzkopf, Amber Larsh, Renee (Ryan) Gugliotta, Great-Grandchildren: Kiah, Laney, & Jonas Ovitt, Rivers & Rayla Herring, Reece Plyler, Linus & Theo Sanders, Levi Schwarzkopf, Edwin & Olive Thompson, Gavin & Weston Gugliotta, Brody Harms, James & Michael Green, Great-great grandchild: Rosie Harms and many nieces & nephews.

Preceded in death were Lillian's parents, 2 brothers, 3 sisters & their spouses, husband Dick, son David, grandson Cody Frisbie, great nephews Chad Haubach & Jamie Campbell

Special thanks to my cousin Jody Akins & Gigi Ditzler for all your love, support, and help. You've blessed us for many years. She truly loved you both with all her heart. Thank you to my husband Tom for all the work done for Mom at her house, fixing & building all kinds of things, yard care & any needed maintenance.

And a BIG thanks to all the Oakley Court staff, FHN Hospice, Park Hills EF church & family, and Schwarz Funeral Home.

Visitation will be held on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 10:00 am, at Park Hills EF Church, Freeport, funeral service to follow at 11:00 am, at the church.

In lieu of flowers, you may provide a gift to the family that will be disbursed to one of three memorials: Salvation Army, PHEF church, or funds toward the purchasing a memorial bench in her name for Krape Park