Sylvia Westholder-Stieg

Sylvia Ann “Skip” (Betts) Westholder-Stieg, 85, of Rockford went to dance with Jesus Thursday, July 8, 2021, after a long battle with cerebral vascular dementia.  Born March 30, 1936, in Rockford, the daughter of Earl and Mildred (Swanson) Betts.  Graduated with her nursing degree from St. Anthony School of Nursing in 1955, later to achieve her BSN from St. Francis.  She married her love, Jerald Westholder in September 1956 and together they had seven children.  Later she married Robert Stieg in 1983.  Skip was a caretaker at heart and her first love was nursing.  She spent most of her career at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, until she retired and moved to the west coast.  She was the first person the family called whenever someone was sick or needed medical care.  One of her nephew's thought she was his personal nurse growing up.  As a mother, there was none better.  She raised her children to love the Lord first and each other.  Family was the most important thing in her life (next to nursing).  If you knew her you knew she loved to dance.  She was always the first on the dance floor to get the party started and welcomed everyone into her life and family.  Her legacy lives on in her children, Barry (Patsy) Westholder, Stephanie (George) Russell, Karen Westholder, Teri (Conrad) Wade, John (Tina) Westholder and Julie (Kevin) Bowden; daughter-in-law, Valerie Westholder; 18 grandchildren, Rachel Petetit, Gabriel (Genoveta) Westholder, Joshua (Michelle) Westholder, Michael Hallstrom, Chad Westholder, Tommy Westholder, Billy, Johnson, Brandy Johnson, Nicole Rowell, Charles Johnson, Samantha (Jason) Dupont, Michael Russell, Abigail (Steve) Eriksen, Noellie Martinez, Nicole (Andrew) Cable, Conrad Wade IIII, Sarah (Cody) Vaughn and Ashely Westholder; 27 great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  Predeceased by her husbands; her oldest son, Jerry Westholder; parents; brothers, Earl “Corky” Betts and Gary Betts; and sister, Jacqueline Vettore.

Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 14, 2021, at St. Bridget Catholic Church, 600 Clifford Ave., Loves Park.  Burial in Calvary Catholic Cemetery.  Visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at Delehanty Funeral Home, Ltd., 401 River Lane, Loves Park.  In lieu of flowers, memorials to Heartland Hospice.