Brenda E. K. (Flowers) Stutler, age 89, died on Christmas Eve morning, 2014 at the Marigold Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Galesburg.
She was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England to Wilfred and Eleanor Maud “Nellie” (Tuffs) Flowers. She was their only child. Her education commenced early and by the age of 16 was already employed as personal secretary to a tax auditor in the British Social Service. As a teenager, she endured numerous air raids in Lynn and even survived a direct hit. She married her American fiancé, Bernard, in 1944. After WWII and her emigration to the US, her secretarial and people skills landed her a job in the Engineering Dept. at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. She eventually settled in Galesburg, starting her own family and becoming a highly respected executive secretary to the Director of the Traffic Dept. at Burlington Truck Lines. After divorcing in 1977, she is most likely to be remembered as the petite graveyard shift clerk who worked for over 20 years at the 24 hour convenience store (7-11 that later got bought out by the Quick Shop). After retiring (well into her seventies) she was a frequent product rep at many local grocery stores handing out free samples to the customers.
She was sadly preceded in death by her oldest son, Jeffrey, and is survived by her devoted daughter-in-law, Brenda and grandson, Brendan in Florida, and her younger son, Gary, and honorary son, David, in California. She is also survived and thought of with fondness by her many cousins in England. Brenda will be long remembered for her witty, sharp tongued turns of phrase, friendliness and satirical insight, but most likely for her being the 5 feet, 1 inch tall English lady, the one with the ageless, disarming and profoundly independent personality. She knew how to endure and she will be sorely missed.
Funeral services will be held at The Watson-Thomas Funeral Home 1849 N. Seminary Street on March 28th at 1:30 pm. Celebration of life will follow at the Thomas Legacy Center. Her family wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude to those members of the nurses and assistants at the Marigold who loved and cared for her accordingly for so many years. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation or for Animal Shelter in Galesburg. Online condolences may be left at www.watsonthomas.com.
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