Lillian Florence Law

Lillian Florence Law, age 98, passed July 22, 2022, at her home in Grants Pass OR.

Lillian was born February 2, 1924, in Parkston SD to William and Emma (Kretchmer) Neugebauer. She grew up on the family farm in Parkston and graduated high school in 1942.

After high school, Lillian moved to Chicago with her sister Rose where she worked in a cap factory and as a waitress. In 1943, she lived in Milwaukee, WI where she worked at Briggs and Stratton as a parts inspector. After returning to South Dakota, Lillian was married to Harold Austin Law on September 26, 1944. Lillian and Harold had 4 children. The first 3, Sharon, Kenneth and Carol were born in South Dakota. In 1956, the family moved to Grants Pass, OR to join the extended Law family who had already made the move out west. Their 4th child Charles was born in Grants Pass.

Lillian was a talented seamstress employed at Excel Dress Shop and Golden Rule where she did fittings and alterations. She was also the bookkeeper for her husband’s septic installation business. She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday school, belonged to the Elks Lodge Emblem Club where she served many years as an officer in various positions, and a founding member of the Jerome Prairie Neighbors. She loved playing cards, especially monthly Bunko with a group of friends. She enjoyed many hobbies including sewing, fishing, woodwork, painting, and gardening. She liked to travel and collect souvenirs from the many countries and places she’d been which, she proudly displayed. She played the accordion and loved music and dancing. She was a fantastic cook and always ready to prepare a meal for a crowd. Every year she canned vegetables from her garden and fruit from her little orchard. She baked everything from scratch and made the best homemade cinnamon rolls.

Always proud of her South Dakota roots and German heritage, she was full of stories about family life on the farm. “Aunt Lil”, as she was known to so many, was kind and generous and always willing to help someone in need in whatever way she could. Her oldest son Kenneth was disabled from childhood. Lillian dedicated herself to caring for him until he passed in January of 2021. Also preceding her in death were her parents William and Emma, brother Leonard who died while serving in WWII, husband Harold, brothers Walter, Ralph, Delbert, and Norbert, sisters Rose and Helen, her daughters Sharon Yadon and Carol Hayden, son-in-law Jim Yadon, and grandson Bart (Yadon).

She is survived by her youngest son Charles and daughter-in-law Shauna Law, grandchildren Glenn Yadon, Ed and Holly Yadon, James Yadon, Brent and Cassie Bare, Autumn and Mike Kopp, Ty and Megan Law, great-grandchildren Kimberly (Yadon), Brenna (Bare), Colton, Austin, and Paislee (Kopp), sisters-in-law Ruth Neugebauer, Rose Neugebauer, and Carol Neugebauer as well as many, many beloved nieces and nephews.

A viewing will be at 10:00 a.m., August 3, 2022 at Hull & Hull Funeral Directors.

A funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m., August 3, 2022 at Hull & Hull Funeral Directors. Private interment will be at Hawthorne Memorial Gardens.