Obituary for LOLA WESTERVELT PERRINS
Lola Westervelt Perrins, 94 of Big Timber, passed away peacefully to go home to heaven, with her brother Paul by her side holding, her hand. Born 12 miles northwest of Reed Point on August 31, 1920, where she lived with her homesteading parents Louie and Ethel Westervelt and her siblings Milo, Leon, and June. Brother Paul joined the family 4 years later. Lola went to school in a one-room schoolhouse that was the church, school, and community center-out on "The Hill" north of Reed Point. Lola was literary minded from the beginning of her life. She started school a year early and was already reading. Her family spent the long winter evenings reading under the gas lamp around the box heater in the kitchen of their cabin, choosing from their mother's shelf of classic books and the stack of books their Dad brought from the Reed Point Library. Much of the time they read aloud and Lola recounted the thrill of being deemed "good" enough to become one of the readers at eight years old. Lola graduated from Sweet Grass County High School in 1937 and then attended Eastern Montana State Normal School (now MSU-B) for $15.00 a semester, obtaining a teaching certificate. Her first teaching job was a one room schoolhouse, The Homestead School, with 9 children in 5 grades. Lola soon gave into wanderlust and moved to Seattle. She was hired at Boeing Company and became a Rosie the Riveter! Lola also lived in Dallas and worked at North American Aviation, and bought her first fur coat from her job installing bomb-bay brackets on AT-6's. Lola then worked as a civilian with The Army's Eighth Service Command Headquarters as a personnel manager. These days were filled with great pride and patriotism for Lola which led her to enlist in the WACS. She then was sent to the dream station of Hawaii. She always said the ratio of service men to service women there led to many lovely dinner/dancing dates. Before Lola was deployed in the service she held an auction of all of her hats and donated the proceeds to Red Cross. This was one of her favorite stories of her life adventures. After the war was over Lola moved to Seattle, Washington and there began the story of the rest of her life as she met Robert Perrins, who knew he wanted to marry Lola the minute he set eyes on her! They married in 1948 and were married for 61years before Bob's death in 2009. They moved to Montana to sheep ranch for a few years, then decided a steady job in engineering was more reliable financially and returned to Washington where they lived and raised their family until Bob retired. Lola was active in politics on the local and state level in Washington. Lola ran for the state senate in Washington twice, was a regular attendee at local school board meetings and city and county matters. She stood firm in her political and ethical convictions thru her life and loved a good spirited debate of all topics, never backing down or amending her stand. She had a book compiled of all the Letters to the Editor she had written (numbering in the hundreds!). Lola raised Siamese and Burmese cats as a hobby, refinished antique furniture, and raised lovely roses in the mild Seattle climate. She worked as a real estate agent in Seattle for several years after her children were in high school and took a great personal interest in her clients, making it her mission to find the perfect house for them. Always the fashion plate-Lola had a killer professional wardrobe! When Bob and Lola retired in 1983 they moved to Big Timber to build their dream log home on Otter Creek. This was the 5th home they built together and Lola stood firm against all compromises to have her dream walk-in closet. Lola was a passionate lifetime member of Right-to-Life-serving as the president of Montana Right to Life and on the advisory board for several a years. Her devotion to saving the lives of the unborn was paramount in her life. At her request a single red rose will be buried with her as a symbol of her devotion to the cause. Ever the activist Lola served as president of The Crazy Mountain Museum helping to establish the beginnings of the museum. The Big Timber Pioneer published a commentary column called The Sage of Sane Center for 2 years that gave Lola a public platform for her conservative political opinions and religious beliefs. She also served as president of The Hospitality House for a term. A 50 year membership in The Daughters of The American Revolution was a great source of pride in her heritage. We will all remember Lola with the deepest of admiration and cherish deeply her love for God and seeking His presence and His will thru prayer. She was a great prayer warrior and prayed for her country, family and friends unceasingly. If anything in life was awry- a call to Lola for prayer on the matter was reassuring as you knew the matter was being prayed for by a true warrior and woman of God. One of the treasured events of Lola's life was a trip to the Holy Lands where she had the blessed experience of praying to her God in The Garden of Gethsemane. She returned from the trip saying her life was complete. Lola's love for her church and her church family was part of her very being and she was cherished, loved and respected deeply in return by them. Lola is survived by her four children-Richard (Karen) Thomas of Denver, Valerie (Mark) Heilman of Idaho, Kim (Tom) Winters of Big Timber, and Milo Perrins of Bozeman. Grandchildren Kenny, Becky, Molly, Seth, Heather, Madison, Troy, Faith, Alex, and Mark, 6 great-grandchildren, brother Paul Westervelt, and numerous nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be held 11:00 A.M. Thursday, February 26th at the Big Timber Evangelical Church with Pastor Bryan Baker officiating. Memorials in Lola's name may be made to Right to Life of Montana, PO Box 6787, Helena, MT 59604 or the Big Timber Senior Center, PO Box 298, Big Timber, MT 59011.
Service:
11:00 A.M. THURSDAY FEB. 26, 2015
BIG TIMBER EVANGELICAL CHURCH
Visitation:
3-9 P.M. WEDNESDAY FEB. 25, 2015
STENBERG FUNERAL HOME
Service:
11:00 A.M. THURSDAY FEB. 26, 2015
BIG TIMBER EVANGELICAL CHURCH
Visitation:
3-9 P.M. WEDNESDAY FEB. 25, 2015
STENBERG FUNERAL HOME
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