A celebration of life service for Ida Lee Gwaltney, 71, West Plains, Missouri, will be held from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m., Monday, June 24, 2024, at the Langston Street Chapel of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.
Ida passed away at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at her home.
She was born March 4, 1953, at Farmington, Missouri, to Monte Ray Ariola and Evelyn Martha MacDonald Ariola. Ida has been a nurse in this area for more than 40 years. She spent most of her career at West Vue Nursing Center caring for elderly and ill, comforting families, and sharing her love with the community. She has held the hand of the suffering, comforted the dying, and shared her love of people with unwavering commitment. Above all, Ida loved to help people who genuinely needed a hand up. Her home was always filled with a stray person or two, her table always held another plate for whoever showed up, and she always had enough to share. Her family includes a lifetime of stragglers and broken hearted people who aren’t always related by birth but bound to her by their dedication to her friendship.
She is survived by her son, Jerome Stadler and daughter Lily Wilde, as well as grandchildren, London Stadler, Kayla Stadler, and John Stadler and a great granddaughter, Emma Morel.
She is preceded in death by William Stadler, husband; William Stadler, son; sisters Rebecca Osborne, Georgia Ann Gilliam, and Elizabeth Ariola and brothers Charles Ariola, Floyd Ariola, and Raymond Ariola.
Memorial contributions may be made to West Vue Nursing Center Activities Fund and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 West Main, West Plains, MO 65775.
