Obituary of Lillian Wilson

Lillian Mae Wilson, age 88, of Vilano Beach, Florida, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2016 with her family by her side. She was born on March 24, 1928 in Sanborn, Iowa, living there most of her life until 1982 when she moved to Florida with her family. Lillian’s life was her children. Her main job was a homemaker, lovingly raising her 8 children. She loved the San Antonio Spurs, NBA basketball, fishing, playing cards and garage sale shopping. But her pride and joy was taking care of her family. Lillian loved family gatherings and holidays where she got to cook for her family. She was a loving daughter, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt and friend. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved her. She is survived by her daughters, Diane Weber and Cathy Wilson, both of Holiday, FL, Laura Steigelman (Herb) of St. Johns, FL, and Patricia Willoughby of Vilano Beach, FL; sons, James Wilson (Mendy) of Morgan City, LA, Richard Wilson of Anchorage, AK, Michael Wilson (Nancy) of Ruthven, IA, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Elaine Holt of Daytona Beach and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by two sons, Tracy Wilson and John Kennedy Wilson. She was born Lillian Mae Dummett, the third child of Glenn Dummett and Gladys Vrooman Dummett. Her ancestors were among the very first to homestead the area surrounding Sanborn, Iowa. She attended Sanborn Public School, graduating as Valedictorian of the class of 1946. She was an outstanding basketball player for the Sanborn Bulldogs, as well as being elected to the Homecoming Court. She was active in music, a clarinetist in band and was the editor of her Sanborn High Dogmatizer school newspaper. She was well known as an outstanding Soprano vocal soloist during high school and throughout her life there. As a young mother, she was a Cub Scout leader, an avid golfer and active in the Sheldon Country Club. For many years she was an outstanding bowler, winning League championships with her women’s teams in both Sanborn and Rock Valley, often with her mother Gladys and later with her daughter Diane. She was among a group of activist parents who pushed for the first Sanborn public swimming pool, organizing a parade prior to the city vote after having sent the first half of her 8 children by bus to Sheldon for swimming lessons. She was competitive in decorating her home for Christmas Lighting contests and going over the top in designing her childrens’ costumes and floats for the annual Sanborn Watermelon Days Parade. She was married for 24 years to the late James A. Wilson of Sheldon, Iowa and assisted in various capacities of the several weekly newspapers they owned in northwest Iowa and southern Minnesota. She was active in the First Presbyterian Church of Sanborn, IA for many years and later was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic faith at St. Cecelia’s Church in Sanborn with all of her children in attendance. Funeral services will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 13, 2016 at St. Johns Family Funeral Home in St. Augustine, FL. Interment and a graveside service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 pm at the Roseland Cemetery in Sanborn, Iowa where she will join many family members including her siblings, infant son, grandson and parents in eternal rest. St. Johns Family Funeral Home, St. Augustine, FL is in charge of arrangements.