- Date Of Birth: July 25, 1931
- Date Of Death: September 27, 2020
- State: Illinois
Mae Nell Stribling, 89, died Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, at Vonderlieth Living Center in Mt. Pulaski, IL.
She was born July 25, 1931, in the home of her parents, Mose Lee and Nellie Lee Tobin White in Ashland. She was the twelfth of thirteen children. Both of her parents passed away by the time she was six years old, and she subsequently spent most of her childhood in various foster homes.
While attending Ashland High School, she was involved in many school activities, but her most memorable event was being chosen as the 1949 Snow Queen. This honor remained one of her happiest moments the rest of her life. After graduating, Mae Nell attended nursing school at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. She later left school to marry H.C. Stribling, also from Ashland. They had three children, Richard, Donald, And Ann Marie.
Several years later, Mae Nell began attending MacMurray College in Jacksonville. She later transferred to Illinois State University in Bloomington, where she received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1969 with a major in Special Education. After graduation, Mae Nell was employed as a Special Education teacher at the Lincoln State School. She was an extremely devoted teacher to her students and worked diligently to enhance their education. Mae Nell’s desire to further her own education under difficult life circumstances demonstrated an example of “the hard work” ethics role model she gifted to her children.
Mae Nell was also a skilled seamstress and made many shirts, suits, and dresses, as well as knitting and crocheting garments for her family. She enjoyed creating numerous imaginative Halloween costumes for her children, often winning awards. In later years, Mae Nell’s grandchildren also enjoyed Grandma Mae’s handcrafted stuffed animals such as “Care Bears”.
Mae Nell spent the last sixteen years of her life at the Vonderlieth Living Center in Mt. Pulaski. She is survived by her three children, Richard Stribling (Greta Johnson), Donald Stribling, and Ann Marie Stribling Verderber; six grandchildren, Michael Verderber, Jackie Little (Cody Little), Laura Verderber, Benjamin Stribling, Tracy Tydeman (Dan Tydeman), and Christina Stribling; six great grandchildren, Samuell Camanse, Gabriell Camanse, Lilia Little, Ava Little, Jayden Day, and Kaia Tydeman; and her remaining sister, Lounette Willis, who resides in Corpus Christi, TX.
