William Donald "Don" Lilly

April 21, 1928 - February 08, 2018

William Donald "Don" Lilly Obituary (Age 89) He was born April 21, 1928 in Butte, Montana to William B. and Hazel Lilly. Don passed away, February 8, 2018 at Holy Family Hospital with his daughter Lauri at his side. As a young boy Don enjoyed hunting with his father, grandfather and his uncle Les. Don lost his father when he was fourteen years old and afterward was raised by his mother, grandparents Frank and Etta Webster as well as his aunt Helen and uncle Les in Spokane. After 18 months of service in the Air Force Don was honorably discharged, returned to Spokane where he married Carol Jarvis. Their first child Greg (Gayle) was born in 1953. Over the next few years Don and Carol added four more children to the fold, Jeff (Judy), Lauri (Ric), Scott (Leslee) and Doug (Mary). During the early days of his marriage Don worked for General Mills in Spokane but was transferred to Los Angeles where he managed to tolerate the hectic lifestyle and horrific traffic for eight months before leaving his job and returning his family to Washington State, settling in the Colbert area in 1961. Over the course of his life Don worked for Kaiser Aluminum, General Mills, Drumheller Analytical Labs and United Paint. Don retired from United Paint at the age of 70, in 1999. Don enjoyed spending time with his family at the cabin on Priest Lakethe lake was the inspiration for him to build not one, but two ski boatsthe first one in his living room! Boating, water skiing and picking huckleberries were a source of enjoyment for Don while spending time at Priest Lake. One accomplishment of which Don was extremely proud was getting his private pilots license in 1987. Ricky Harber, a flight instructor married to one of Carols nieces, Roxanne, taught him to fly. Together Don and Ricky spent many hours soaring high above the world. Don never grew tired of flying and Ricky Harber remained one of his most treasured friends to the end of his days. Tragically, Don lost his wife Carol to lung and brain cancer in 2008 and a grandchild, Matthew to SIDS in 1991. Don leaves behind all five of his children as well as 14 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. A service for Don will be held on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 11 AM, at Heritage Funeral Chapel. A graveside ceremony will follow at 12:30 PM at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.