Our precious Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and Great-Great-Grandmother, Lillian, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 24, 2020 at the incredible age of ninety-nine years. Our matriarch leaves behind her large and loving family and a legacy of values that she shared and built with her husband and life-long sweetheart, John.

Grandma Dee's life was deeply rooted in her faith and in her relationships with her loved ones. She had a special fondness and connection with each and every person in her life, celebrating their uniqueness, but Grandma had a particular empathy for the poor, the lonely and the downtrodden. Living the vast and varied life that she did, Grandma met and befriended many people wherever she went, many of whom remained in her life until the end.

Grandma loved a good visit with family and friends. Regardless of the temperature outside (or inside, for that matter), a proper chin-wag was always accompanied by a hot, bottomless cup of coffee. Grandma loved to laugh and to share her funny anecdotes of current and past adventures, and to reminisce about "the way things were" - which was an absolute treasure. To truly see Grandma in her element was to include a country drive in the visit that indulged her inner gypsy.

Grandma was a warm hug and kiss, a kind and thoughtful word, but she could also serve a saucy quip with a smirk and jaunty tilt of her head. She was independent, sometimes even a little stubborn, and always vibrant and "feisty." Grandma was charming and dynamic; she was a lot of things actually, but above all else she was her authentic self.

For all of these reasons and so much more, Grandma Dee will be mourned and missed by her children: John (Sandra) Degerness, Rossyln (Len) Millar, Karen (Keith) McHarg, Donna (Daryl) Wilkison, Verly (Norman) Breadner, Louise (Randy) Drew, Arlee (Doug) Scott, Leon (Christine) Degerness, and Joanne (Wayne) Pederson, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and many friends.

Grandma rejoins her beloved husband, John, and son Keith Degerness



The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the date on her tombstone
From beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

~ Linda Ellis