Mary Nell Stojan

To all friends and family of Nell Stojan, I am sorry to announce that Nell passed away on Sunday, June 25, 2023 in hospice care. As she was a very "take charge" type of person, below is an obituary written by her in own handwriting:

Mary Nell Craft was born September 3, 1927 in McComb, Mississippi to Wm Mack Craft and Deta Rushing. She grew up mostly in Mississippi. At 16 she was employed by the Illinois Central Rail Road and ended up working in Burlington, Illinois. She met and married Warren D. Stojan December 30, 1945. They raised 5 children together. Michael Stojan, Carol Christoffel, Phillip Stojan, David Stojan, and Mack Stojan.

They farmed until 1990 when Warren lost a leg. They moved to Mississippi and enjoyed his retirement until his sudden death August 27, 1997. She continued to live in Mississippi until November of 2009 when she moved back to Illinois to be near her kids.

All of her life she was a Christian and attended church as often as she could. She helped with church projects and served as president of the women’s groups through the years.

She was also a 4-H leader, Blue Birds leader, and president of her Home Extension groups. She was proud of her 20 years of being Chairman of Burlington Chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Beside all this she was a seamstress, caterer, and “go fer” on the farm. She drove tractors to work the soil, haul in corn, help make hay and any other odd job that needed doing.

She was a loving wife for 52 years. She treasures her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and friends.

She is preceded in death by her husband Warren and son Michael Stojan, survived by her daughter Carol Christoffel (Dwayne) and sons Phillip (Karen), David (Theresa) and Mack Stojan (Don).

A celebration of life for her and her son Michael (who passed away May 18, 2023) will held Sept 3 at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Burlington. — with Michael Stojan

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/chicago-cremation for the Stojan family.