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Lillian Lenore Phillips

Lillian Lenore Phillips

Nov 10, 1928 - Feb 26, 2014
Wind River Valley says goodbye to Rodeo Queen of 1947

I write this in memory of grandma Nan (Lillian Lenore Phillips). She was loved and cherished by her large family and most anyone she net along her life’s path.

Grandma lived in the Wind River valley since before the forming of the Wind River Reservation. She grew up on the Hidden Valley Ranch Northwest of Bull Lake and then moved to Lander as she grew older.

She leaves behind a large family of 7 children; 6 of which are still alive, 13 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren, 3 sets of twins, and family spread all over the western hemisphere. Her siblings that are still with us are Pete and her sister, Carrie.

Grandma was a remarkable lady that loved to be flamboyant and very outgoing. She was an exceptional crotchet artist, as many of you reading this probably donated or participated in one of her many crochet tablecloth raffles she did for charity or various organizations. She was good enough to make a runner for my coffee table with no pattern, just some rough measurements.

She was a chef, caregiver, janitor, mother for most of her younger life taking care of her children, working to support them as she was an early widow when her 1st husband drowned in a tragic accident in Bull Lake in 1959.

She went on to Colorado and pursued her real estate license; somewhere along in there she went back to school and graduated. She always said an education was very important and you could go further with than without one. In her later years she became involved with the elderly and took care of a few clients as well as look out for her own mother.

Grandma talked about a lot of stories growing up on the homestead and having chores with no water or electricity. Her dad started a dude ranch on the homestead and several TV writers actually stayed with them taking some Wyoming tales back to the Hollywood scene.

I became involved with my grandmother after my brain injury. I came back home to Wyoming, then started taking care of her, after 5 different visits to the hospital in a year it was recommended to me that we pick a place for her to move into so that she had 24 hr. care. Grandma had chosen Morning Star as her next stop and to live there for a little while longer.

We will all miss her as the matriarch of the family, well loved, and missed by all who knew her.