URBANA â Nelly Sfeir Gonzalez, 90, died at 9:56 p.m. on Sunday, November 29, 2020, from respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 after fighting valiantly for two weeks at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Nelly was exemplary at all the stages of her life, being at different times a fun playmate to her siblings and neighborhood children, a student leader in her university days, a supportive wife to her civil engineer husband Walter, a dedicated mother to her five sons (Walter Ramiro, Mauricio, Javier, Fernando and Sergio), a nationally-recognized librarian and award-winning bibliographer at the University of Illinois, a doting grandmother to 11 grandchildren (two of whom died prior to puberty) and one great-grandchild, and a fearless elderly person who faced the challenges of aging with serenity. A consummate oral storyteller, she had a winning smile, charming wit, and the gift of making and cultivating friends of all ages, and all social backgrounds, for the long haul. At a few points in the timeline, her life intersected with persons of historical importance.