Alberta L. (Neely) Saddler

OTTAWA – Alberta L. (Neely) Saddler, 88, of Ottawa, formerly of Wedron, IL., passed from this earthly life into the arms of her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at LaSalle County Nursing Home in Ottawa, IL.

Funeral services will be held at the Grace Baptist Church, 601 E. McKinley Road in Ottawa on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. with Pastor Steve Sheridan and Pastor Ralph Demming officiating.  Burial will be in Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa.  Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday, November 30 ^th at Gladfelter Funeral Home, 1601 East Norris Drive, Ottawa.

Mrs. Saddler was born October 8, 1924, in Lilbourn, New Madrid County, Missouri, to George W. and Minnie L (Wright) Neely.  She married Hueston Saddler on September 3, 1944 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where her husband was stationed at the time, while serving in the Army during World War II.  They had been married 47 years when he preceded her in death on February 10, 1991.

Alberta, also known at Bertie Lou, was a 1942 graduate of Detroit Western High School, Detroit, Michigan.  While living in Lilbourn, Missouri, she worked in the post office under the guidance of the post mistress, her Aunt Mary Castleberry.  During WWII she was employed at the Ford Rotunda in Dearborn, Michigan, delivering inter-office memos while on roller skates.  She worked at St. Joseph’s Health Resort in Wedron, IL from 1960 to 1974, she took dictation and transcribed doctor’s records all the while being the overseer of the Physical Therapy Dept. where she would schedule appointments and give guests paraffin baths, apply hot hay packs, and give baths in the mineral spring water for which the resort was well known.  She then worked at the Sheridan Correctional Center in Sheridan, IL, first working as a secretary to Barry Sanders in the Automotive Department through Illinois Valley Community College.  She later changed positions and became a guard employed by the Sheridan Correctional Center before earning the position of Secretary to the Warden, working along side of Warden’s Neal McDonald, Howard Peters, and James Kranz.  After retiring in 1989, at the age of 65, she decided that she was not quite ready for retirement, and took a position with Halterman Photography and it was here where she met an amazing group of women that she became close friends with.  She then changed course after a few years and began to volunteer at the Community Hospital of Ottawa, donating many hours of her time, while doing this she took on yet another job working as a greeter at the front desk.  Eventually giving up the volunteer work, due to a broken hip, she continued to work as a greeter, and reluctantly gave up that position due to her health in November 2003.

Bertie Lou was baptized as a young girl by Bro. Saxon in the Little River, an inlet of the Mississippi River in Lilbourn, Missouri.  As an adult she attended the Harmony Baptist Church in Ottawa, Parkview Baptist Church in Marseilles, and the Grace Baptist Church in Ottawa, IL.  Bertie was a precious, loving soul, a great employee, a trusted friend, and a devoted mother.  She treasured her family.  She will be missed greatly for her spunk, loving direction to family and her “whistling”.

Alberta is survived by three daughters, Judy (George) Neider of Virginia, Cheryl (Ron) Arntzen of Florida, and Debra (Pete) Snook of rural Ottawa; eight grandchildren, Leslie (Michael) Newman of Virginia, Alison (Tom) Schramm of Serena, Andrew (Heather) Arntzen of Florida, Brett (Reneé) Miller, Brandon and Kody Miller, all of Ottawa, Kasey (Chad) Wilson of Ottawa, and Kendall Snook of rural Ottawa; fourteen great grandchildren, Justin and Ashleigh Newman, Gage and Hailee Arntzen, Alexis and Madison Schramm, Andrew and Corinne Arntzen, Kodi Erin and Samantha Miller, Hueston, Brayden, Charlotte and Korra Wilson; three sisters in-law, Marg Neely of North Carolina, Myrtle Moore and Malissa Holloway, both of Ottawa; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Benjamin and Susan (Williams) Neely and Philip and Nancy Jane (Hooker) Wright; her parents; her husband; her only son, John Larry Saddler; four brothers, Benjamin Henry, Herbert Arthur, Harold Everette and George Wesley Neely; four sisters, Dorothy Mae and Mary Jane Neely, Charlotte Childers and Evelyn Riddle.

Pallbearers will be her grandchildren, Brett, Brandon and Kody Miller, Chad and Kasey Wilson, Kendall Snook, and Michael and Leslie Newman.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimers Foundation or the Ebenezer Cemetery in Rockwood, IL.