Vivian E. Odell, age 79, a longtime resident of Winfield, IL, went to heaven, December 30, 2019 peacefully at home surrounded by her family. She was born September 5, 1940 in Chicago to Laddie and Vivian Polz.

Vivian grew up in Cicero and graduated from Morton East High School. She completed nursing school at Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital. After graduation, while working in Labor & Delivery, she met Stewart Odell during his last year of medical school. They were married on December 28, 1963. From 1967 until 1971 they lived in Nuremburg, Germany while Dr. Odell was serving in the Army. In 1971 they moved to Winfield. She worked as a nurse at Wheaton College while raising five boys. She was instrumental in fundraising for Winfield Middle school extracurricular activities and also stepped up to coach soccer and basketball when funding was unavailable.

She was an active member of College Church in Wheaton where she was employed for a number of years as Missions Secretary. She also served as a Stephen's Ministry coordinator and Griefshare leader. For over a decade, she hosted the church staff for a Christmas luncheon. She was on the board of Delnor Hospital Auxiliary, where she had served as president. She and her husband were team leaders for a Partnership Ministry Team which supported a local physician and his wife in Kenya through the Luke Society. She also served on a short term missions team in Quito, Ecuador.

She was passionate about helping others and enjoyed helping others succeed. She was an excellent listener, very hospitable, and generous with all she had. Christmas was an important time to her and she loved to give gifts. She enjoyed spending time with family and friends in Hawaii and at their lake house in Wisconsin. She loved to attend her grandchildren's events.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Stewart Odell, five sons, Mark (Vivica) Odell of Wheaton, Eric (Mary) Odell of Winfield, Adam (Kate) Odell of Lincoln, NE, Todd (Carl) Odell of Winfield, and Sean (Kathryn) Odell of West Dundee, 11 grandchildren, Samuel, Eli, Zachary, Tyler, Megan, Emily, Caleb, Isaac, Micah, Jacob, and Kiah, and her siblings, Laddie (Jan) Polz of Elburn and Linda (the late Jack) McCormick of Hancock, WI. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 2, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton . A funeral service will be held on Friday, January 3, at 2:00 p.m. at College Church, Washington and Seminary St., Wheaton. Interment will be held privately.

Memorial gifts may be directed to College Church Missions Fund, 332 E. Seminary Avenue, Wheaton, IL  60187 .

Family and friends may sign a guest book at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027 .