Gladys Pfau

Gladys L. Pfau, 99, of Ottawa, passed away peacefully on January 15, 2026 at LaSalle County Nursing Home.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 21, from 9:00am until 11:00am at Ottawa Funeral Home. A funeral ceremony will take place at 11:00am at the funeral home. Burial will follow is St. Columba Cemetery.

Gladys was born June 28, 1926 in Deer Park Township, to George and Lillie (Porter) Nagel. She married Robert M. Pfau on November 26, 1949. He preceded her in death on April 18, 2019.

Prior to her marriage, Gladys was secretary to superintendents W.R. Foster (LaSalle County Superintendent) and Warren P. Shepherd (Ottawa Elementary District Superintendent). She returned to work for Richard Salzer (Superintendent Unit 2) after her children were all in School. She was also secretary to the Board of Education Unit District 2 for several years.

She is survived by her son, Michael (Patty) Pfau of Serena; her grandchildren, Jennifer Pfau, Amie (Scott) Nystrom, Rebecca (Brett) Johnson, Megan (Jason) Friestad, Beth (Scott) Govednik, Peter (Jenna) Pfau, Diane (Kyle) Schott, Tami (Jeff) Harmon, Kathi (Dustin) Cade, and Andrea (Bob) Whittaker; and her 16 great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents, George and Lillie; her husband of 69 years, Robert, her son, James Pfau; her daughter, Mary Jane Pleskovich; her siblings, Dorothy Ristick, Juanita Snell, Ernest Nagel, and Ivan Pete Nagel; and her granddaughter, Jennifer Pfau

Pallbearers will be her grandchildren.

Memorial contributions in Gladys' honor may be directed to the Serena Fire Department, PO Box 133, Serena, IL 60549.