Stella Leow

Mama's Obituary
It is with sadness that I announce the passing of Stella Faith Leow at the age of 85 years on April 20th, 2025 at 4:29 p.m. on the Special Care Unit in the Beloit Memorial Hospital in Beloit, Wisconsin. She was visited by her close family and friends who wished to see her in person to say goodbye.
Stella Faith Cham-A-Koon was born on November 30th, 1939 in Essequibo, Guyana, South America. The eighth child of nine children.
She is preceded in death by her husband Harold Stanislaus Leow; oldest daughter Diané Dee (Leow) Schriner; as well as brothers Howard and wife Beryl, David, unknown name of baby boy, Dennis, Julian and wife Shirley and Winston Cham-A-Koon; sisters Jane Pamela and husband George Asgar-Deen and Isley (Sein Sein) and husband Joseph Foo.
She is survived by her youngest daughter Marçia Cham-A-Koon Friskey and son-in-law Robert Friskey, as well as sisters-in-law Bonnie Cham-A-Koon (Winston), Enid Lashley and Thelma Baptiste and all nieces, nephews, their children and grandchildren (there's lots of us, too many to name), as well as Larry Kilburg (fiancé to Dee at the time of her passing).
While being a resident in Freeport, IL she attended Way To Life Christian Church and eventually Crossroads Community Church. Stella loved the Lord and was quite the prayer warrior. She loved to pray with and for anyone who needed prayer. She was asked a few times to lead the prayer ministry at Crossroads. She was always happy to participate in meetings with her church cell group and they were all so great and generous with their time and welcoming presence. She also liked to volunteer at the Senior Resource Center in Freeport. She will be missed by many people.
She worked briefly at Highland Community College while attending there to continue her accounting education. She worked at Structo, also known as Thermos and Halsey Taylor Company in the accounting department and at Ultrasonic in the accounting department as well. She eventually started working at FHN Memorial Hospital in the Central Business Office where she retired at the age of 73.
My mummy met my daddy when her brother Julian brought him home from one of their masses. My dad was the head acolyte at Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown, Guyana and Uncle Julian was an altar boy. It's been mentioned a few times over the years that my dad was headed to the priesthood, but when he saw mummy he was smitten. They got married June 21th, 1958 and my sister Dee was born in 1959 and then me in 1961.
Stella will be cremated with a Celebration of Life service at McCorkle Funeral Home in Pecatonica IL which will be live streamed May 24th at 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. for those family and friends who cannot be there in person.
For those of you who cannot be there in person and would like a memory of Stella read at the service please contact the funeral home and they will provide you with the information so you can send your message for me or another family member to read at Stella's service.
Mama's going home to be with the Lord so let's all be happy for her; so we can cry and laugh and remember the good times. If you are making the trip to Pecatonica and black is not your favorite color, please you don't have to wear black. Mama and I love color, so just be comfortable. She was more of a pants and T-Shirt gal.
Please check out the McCorkle Funeral Home website for all details and if you would like to download any photo memory you may want to share.
If you will be joining us by live stream and would like your name put in her registry book, please call McCorkle Funeral Home and your name and city/State/Country will be added to the list which I will put in her book. For those in another country, text my cell and I will add your name to her registry book. Thank you all for being a part of my mom's life adventure and helping to celebrate her new journey home to be with Our Lord.
A Memorial Ceremony will be held at 12:00 p.m., on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at McCorkle Funeral Home - Pecatonica Chapel, 203 W. Fifth Street, Pecatonica, IL with Pastor Jackie Cham-A-Koon officiating. Cremation Rites were Accorded. A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until time of service, Saturday at the funeral home. McCorkle Funeral Home - Rockton Chapel assisted the family.