Lila Bell Barbre
Lila Bell Barbre passed away April 8, 2013 in her Ephrata home. She was born January 12, 1920 in Creston, WA, the second of five children to George and Amy (Simons) Bell. She was an alumna of Creston High School, the valedictorian of the class of 1937. She was a farm cook, a nanny, and during WWII, she worked at Fairchild Air Force Base installing gyros into the cockpits of fighter planes, working her way up to supervisor. She obtained a Master Mechanic license. She married James K. Barbre on February 14, 1946, eloping to Missoula, MT. She and Jim first settled in the Spokane Valley and raised her sister June's baby, Billy Depner, until he was 3. Their daughter, Julia, was born in 1951. In 1952, they moved to Soap Lake when Jim became his brother Verne's farm manager. Daughter Cherilyn and son James were born in Soap Lake in 1956 and 1958. In 1964, they bought the Dean Smith wheat farm, two sections of the best farmland west of Ephrata, and they moved to the old farm house in the middle of the wheat field. They farmed until retirement in 1976, when they moved into Ephrata.
Lila fought many health issues over the years: cysts, hepatitis, ulcers and the removal of her stomach in 1973 due to cancerous polyps. A strong, quiet faith sustained her through these health battles.
She was an avid gardener, who spent every day she could outside digging in the dirt. She was a seamstress, who remodeled everything she bought to make it fit. She sewed her girls' clothes. She did the Sunday crossword puzzle out of the Spokesman Review every week, including the diagram-less, for the fun of it. She loved "Jeopardy." She collected butterflies and dolphins, symbols of rebirth and intelligence, both of which she experienced.
Lila was a member of the Stitch and Chatter Club and Memorial Christian Church.
She is survived by daughters JuLee (Dan) Wolfe of Federal Way, Cherilyn Barbre of Ephrata, son James D. Barbre of Moses Lake, grandsons Zayne K. Barbre of Seattle and James C. Barbre of Soap Lake, nephews Clifford (Mary) and Edward (Vicki) of Ephrata, as well as other cousins, nephews and nieces.
Preceding her in death, her husband, James K. Barbre; her parents, George W. Bell and Amy Belle Simons Bell; her sisters, Alice Lamberson, Wilda Harden, June Depner; her brothers, George "Jiggs" Bell and Herbert Bell.
Graveside memorial service will be at the Creston Washington Cemetery on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. with family and friends gathering before and after at the Creston Christian Church.
Memorials may be given in Lila's name to the Creston Alumni Association, or to the Memorial Fund of Memorial Christian Church. Services under direction of Nicole Funeral Home, Ephrata.