Stella Maria (Galla) Grim

Stella M. (Galla) Grim of Wildwood, Illinois, passed away on May 12, 2022 at the age of 97.

Stella was born on October 18, 1924 in Lamberton, Pennsylvania (an H. C. Frick coal mine town) to Luigi Galla and Felice (Natale) Galla, the eighth of their nine children. Stella was preceded in death by her parents, five brothers, and two sisters.

In 1940, after her father’s death, Stella moved with her mother,  and her siblings who were still living at home, to Lawn Avenue in Uniontown. She attended Uniontown Area Senior High School and began working at the W.T. Grant store on Main Street. After graduating, she continued to work at Grant’s, full-time, for over a decade, and eventually became a floor manager. She met Dale E. Grim, when he moved to Uniontown, and they married on November 21, 1953. They bought a house on Berkeley Street in Uniontown. 

Stella left her job at Grant’s, and devoted herself to being the perfect 1950s housewife and mother. She was pretty successful at that. First a son, William, and then a daughter, Samantha, were born. Her husband, Dale, was a chemist and laboratory manager for Allied Mills, Inc. There was a Studebaker in the garage, and a black and white television in the living room. The family were all happy and content. She threw great dinner parties, birthday parties, and family get-togethers, and enjoyed entertaining her guests. 

In 1978, after Allied Mills was acquired by Continental Grain, Dale was transferred to Illinois, where he managed the research laboratory. Stella reluctantly said goodbye to Uniontown, and they moved to Wildwood, Illinois, about forty miles north of Chicago. After settling in, Stella made new friends, while staying in communication with her old friends, “back home.”

Stella embarked on a new career, as a Special Education Teaching Assistant at the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL). She really loved her students, teaching them crafts and assisting in every aspect of their education, and they loved her. She retired in 1993, and some of her students kept in touch with her for the rest of her life.

After retirement, Stella continued to make crafts for every holiday, for everyone. She and Dale did some traveling. After Dale, her husband of 61 years, passed away in 2014, she stayed home a lot more, and enjoyed welcoming visitors: friends, nieces and nephews, her grandchildren, and anyone who stopped by.

She is survived by her son, William Grimm of Greendale, Wisconsin, his wife Bonnie (Breiling) Grimm, and three grandchildren: Ely, Alan, and Julia Grimm, her daughter, Samantha (Grim) Thomas of Wildwood, Illinois, her beloved brother, Dr. Patrick P. Galla, of Louisville, Kentucky, and his wife, Muriel Galla, nieces, nephews, and godchildren. 

Visitation will be held 10:00 A.M. until time of Funeral Mass of the Resurrection at the St. Therese Roman Catholic Church 61 Mill St. Uniontown, PA, Interment to follow at the Oak Lawn Cemetery, Funeral arrangements entrusted to the Symonds Lakes Funeral Home, Grayslake, IL. for additional information please contact the funeral home at 847-543-1080

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