Lillian Marie Wilson was born May 30, 1919 to George and Selma Wilson in a small sauna on the family farm in Woodland, WA. She was soon joined by sister Linda. They were educated at the Clover Valley School in Woodland and headed out into the world to see what life after the farm was all about.
Lil soon married Eugene Uutela and they had a son Ronald. They later divorced and she opened the Elkhorn Grill café in Elkton, OR where she met and married a long-haul truck driver, Lester ”Les” Westfall Jr., acquiring four stepchildren that she provided a loving place to land for excellent meals, handmade quilts, dish towels and lots of other type of craft items that she made. She was always willing to teach whatever we wanted to learn from her.
Les and Lil lived in many different places during his career as a long-haul truck driver but they always returned to the Pacific Northwest. Once retired, they traveled all over the US in their fifth wheel, volunteering at any park they stayed in more than a month. Lil taught crafts and Les worked security.
When they finished their travels, they bought a place in a 55 and older community where Mom lived until July 2019. Mom fought the good fight but she died on September 4, 2019.
Lil is survived by her son, Ronald Uutela; granddaughter, Evelyn Marie Uutela; and Linda’s two daughters, Suzanne and Suzette Sayles; stepchildren, Muriel (Ray) Barrett, Maureen Westfall, LuAnn (Gary) Engelhardt and stepdaughter-in-law, Janet Westfall. She’s also survived by 8 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren. She is survived by two women that consider her their mother, Marlene Harrison and her family and Celine Weldy and her husband Vern, of Arizona. She is also survived by more friends than I can even begin to count. She gathered people to her wherever she found herself and they never forgot her.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Les; parents, George and Selma; her sister, Linda Vetsch; grandson, Danny Uutella; and stepson, Mike Westfall.
At Lil’s request there will be no services.
Lil’s niece, Suzanne, sent this about her Aunt:
Lillie Marie Wilson Westfall
1919-2019
Loved by all who knew her kind,
Charming, generous, funny, proud,
Stubborn, with lots of Finnish sisu
They had to translate sisu for me, it means: Extraordinary endurance in the face of adversity, persistence, determination, guts. Full of courage, tenacity, resolve, willpower, and an indomitable spirit.
That truly is Lillian ”Lillie” Marie Wilson Westfall’s legacy.
Published in The Columbian on Sept. 15, 2019
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