William E. Lilley's Obituary
William born April 7, 1934 in a small home in McCleary, WA has passed away on January 9th 2025. He was predeceased by his parents Grover & Rachel Lilley, and both sibling Neil Lilley & Elsie Spence. He is survived by three children James Lilley who resides in Port Ludlow, WA, and his two daughters Korine Borgeson & Peggy Bik both who reside in the Bosie, Idaho area. He is also survived by five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
By 90 years old he had lived a very full life. Spending his early years as trained electrician in the US Navy on the flight decks of aircraft carriers during the Vietnam Conflict. After twenty years he retired from his military life. He then continued his trade as civilian employee for an additional fifteen years at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Retiring a second time, he turned his attention to community work.
As a community member he worked tirelessly distributing food at the local food banks. Organizing award winning stand-down events to support displaced and unsheltered veterans. He served several years as the Commander of his local VFW Post and remained loyal to veterans causes until the day he died.
Even after all the years he spent working on the water for the military, he never stopped loving the ocean. In retirement he boated and shrimped in the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest. He often adventured across the ocean on the large cruise ships. He was most at home with his cup of coffee watching the sea. One of his favorite trips was to the San Juan Islands with his son Jim. He also enjoyed being a maker by creating candles, wine or working with wood. His other hobbies included model trains and cooking delicious beef stew.
William loved his family and relished it watching them grow over the years. His hallways were always plastered with the latest family photographs. And because of his interest in genealogy many of these photographs often showed multi-generation groupings. He was a dedicated & loyal brother and son to his parents. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Mountain View Cemetery will hold private viewing on Sunday, February 2, 2025 from 10am to 4pm
Private funeral services are being held by family
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