Gloria Jean Granger

Gloria Jean Granger was born to Larry & Lola (Schuler) Knochel on March 30, 1955 and entered eternal rest on Monday, September 22, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She suffered several health issues over the past few years and is now at peace. She was lovingly assisted on this journey by her best friend and caregiver, Jesus “Poppy” DeLeon. Gloria attended Gilman schools and received her degree in Business Management from Illinois State University. She held many retail management positions over the years in this area. Gloria married Edward W. Granger on June 13, 1981 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Gilman. She was always dressed to the nines with matching shoes, jewelry, and purses with all the little pouches she could fit in there. Gloria should have been on the Price is Right because surely, she would have anything in that purse they asked for. She loved and spent hours gardening, and her yard was a testament to her talent. She always shared her plants with family and always got them back to revive back to life. Her love and devotion to her church and church family shone through her love of God. She was a beloved member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, where she shared her time and talent on the church council, the Women’s group, and chairing the church annual rummage sale over the years and so appreciated all the help with the sale. She would take photos of items donated and send them to the family members asking if they were interested in purchasing them. We often joked that if we kept buying all these treasures there would not be enough to sell. Gloria loved her family and shared many family vacations making beautiful memories. She developed her love of the Smoky Mountains on her first trip and enjoyed many more. She enjoyed her trip to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC and loved the gardens. Gloria took over decorating the cabin in the mountains for her niece's wedding and that is where she met her best friend and caregiver, Poppy DeLeon. She loved her nephews and their love of music and was front and center watching John with setup and listening to Richard on guitar. She was his number one fan requesting songs whether at a gig or at home sharing our Saturday dinners. The love of her many cats was unconditional and their love of her was returned daily. Gloria is survived by her best friend, Jesus “Poppy” DeLeon; sisters-in-law, Irene Granger and Carol Gard; special friend, Sr. Mary Beth Clements SSCM; niece, Nicole (John) Sego; nephews, John R. Gard and Richard A. Granger; great nieces, Evelyn (Mateo) Collazo and Emily (Tallesin) McLelland; great nephew, John Logan Sego; and many loving cousins and friends. Gloria is preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Robert & Alice (Lambert) Granger; and brothers-in-law, John J. Gard and Robert Granger. We wish to thank Gloria’s doctors and nurses and the staff at Citadel Care Center, her church family, and especially her best friend, Poppy DeLeon for their loving care. She will be loved and missed by all but she is still in our hearts. Rest in Peace sweet lady! Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home in Kankakee. An additional visitation time will be held from 9 a.m. until the time of the 10 a.m. funeral service on Thursday, October 2, 2025 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Bradley. Interment will follow at St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery in Crescent City. Memorials may be made to the family wishes. --

Gloria Jean Granger

March 30, 1955 - September 22, 2025