Lila Espeseth

Lila Espeseth was born in Casper, Wyoming on August 9,1927 to Rose (Steinle) and Hedrick 'Sarge' Nelson, Lila left us early in the morning on January 5, 2014, with her daughters at her side, Lila spent her early years in Caspar, with her sister, Lorna, riding horses and living and playing in the National Guard Armory where her parents cared for the horses of the 115th Cavalry Regiment. We loved her stories about living on the upper level of the round Armory where they would look down at the horses and arena, A favorite story was about the time they took in a sick elephant from a traveling circus, and Lila and Lorna would throw hay down on top of the elephant. Lila moved to Billings with her mother and sister when she was a teenager, and graduated from Billings Senior High School, She married Ty Espeseth in 1947, and together they raised 4 children, Those years were filled with building a house, while we lived in it, and summers spent camping in the Beartooth Mountains. She also loved being outdoors gardening, and we brought a lot of rocks down out of the mountains to grace her gardens. Lila always had an interest and gift for sewing, especially clothing, In her youth she had dreamed of working in fashion, and she kept that interest alive by sewing for her home and family. One of her first jobs soon after high school was working as a window dresser at Hart Albin's Department store in downtown Billings. Throughout her years she worked in various retail positions in department stores, and fabric stores, and she valued the special relationships she developed with her co-workers. When her children had grown, and after she and Ty divorced, Lila embarked on a new road of adventure and challenges. She and her good friend, Ron Davis, traveled and lived throughout the Southwest. They lighted in places including Taos, New Mexico, where she and Ron ran an art gallery, and in Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas. They spent time in San Francisco and Portland, They visited New York City. She returned to Billings in the late 1980's, in time to be there to help care for her much loved father-in-law, Ferd Espeseth at the end of his life. She was there to welcome her first grandchild, Dylan. She enjoyed her retirement years spent with Dylan, working in her garden, and traveling to Kalispell to see her grandchildren, Millie and twins Griffin and Ty. She is survived by her four children, Linda, Gayle, Karen (Tom), and Scott (Janet), and 4 grandchildren, Dylan, Millie, Griffin and Ty. Mom fought through a long battle with Alzheimers, with grace, humor, and acceptance. Cremation has taken place and memorial services will be held at a later date.