William Edward Tillotson, 79

William Edward Tillotson, son of Clyde Nathaniel Tillotson and Lillian Naugle Tillotson, returned to his Creator on Oct. 2, 2004. Bill died peacefully in Missoula, Mont., with his son, Steve, and his son-in-law, Richard Smith, at his bedside.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004, in Coffelt's Moon Chapel. Interment will follow in Pinecrest Memorial Park.

Bill was born July 3, 1925, in Lemhi, Idaho, the youngest of four children. He was raised on a ranch on the Lemhi Bar, and he and his sisters attended school in Lemhi. While a boy, he rode miles by horseback to fish mountain streams in the foothills. When Bill was 12, the family moved to Sandpoint, Idaho. Sandpoint was his primary place of residence for the remaining 67 years of his life.

Still a teenager during World War II, Bill worked in the Portland shipyards building Liberty ships for troop transport.

In 1948, he married Rosanna Lee of Sandpoint and, in 1949, their son Steve was born.

Bill worked as a logger for Pack River Lumber Company and for others, fished blueback commercially on Lake Pend Oreille, hunted wild game, and gathered huckleberries.

In 1960, Bill married Evelyn Ulrich and adopted his second son, Ken. Evelyn passed away in 1986. In 1988, Bill married Naida Miller of Priest River.

All of his life, he loved gardening, animals and the out-of-doors. He was a rugged individualist who lived life on his own terms. He had a deep faith in God, and his church connections were of great comfort to him.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters, Louise Millin, Ruth Vogel and Evelyn Wilson; his wife, Evelyn Tillotson; a niece, Linda Vogel; and an infant grandson, Bryan Tillotson. He is survived by two sons and their families, Steve of Missoula, Mont., and Ken of Yakima, Wash.; three grandchildren, Nathan, Shannon and Michael; numerous nieces and nephews; and special friends, Naida Miller, and Buck and Neoma Raynor.

The family suggests Hospice or the American Cancer Society for those wishing to make donations in Bill's memory.

May the forests be deep and green, the trees tall and broad, and the huckleberries thick and ripe where he has gone.

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Coffelt Funeral Service of Sandpoint.