Von Thomas Lilly

Beaver, West Virginia is a beautiful area of the hills and hollers just outside of Beckley. Von T. Lilly was proud to be from there and though he left there in 1957, his experiences and life lessons learned there never left him. For the remainder of his life, he was a devoted father and grandfather, an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish and breed hunting dogs. He also loved to grow tomatoes and spending time with almost anything mechanical that he could find to do. Von was retired from his careers as a crane operator at Kaiser Steel in Fontana and then from the California Department of Corrections.

Von was born March 21, 1940 and was the fifth child of Ashton Von and Helen Mae (Green) Lilly. He spent his childhood in the hills of West Virginia prior to leaving to join the Navy. His Naval tour took him to Japan, the Philippines and around the world eventually ending his tour in San Diego where he met his future wife Sandra West in Riverside after hitch hiking Highway 395 with a buddy of his coming to see her there. They would go on to become married and later divorce after having three children, Thomas, Wayne, and Lisa and later, four grandchildren, Joshua, Anthony, Cheyenne, and Tommy and one great grandchild, Lilah. Von also shared a special relationship and friendship with Betty Jutila that lasted the duration of both of their lives. He resided in Riverside until his death on May 11, 2021.

Von was predeceased by both of his parents, brother Milburn and sisters Patricia and Cynthia. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, sisters Sue, Nancy, Judy, and Becky and brothers Kessel and Buddy along with many nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will take place on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, CA. The family requests that in lieu of flowers and cards, that remembrances of Von’s life be in the form of a kind act or deed for another, thank you.