Lilas E Dalnes

Lilas Edna Dalnes (Gehrke) Age 85 A loving wife and mother, Lilas was called to the arms of the Lord on Wednesday, August, 8th. She was born in Chatfield, MN on January 12th, 1927 to Louis and Frieda Gehrke. Lilas was the 7th of 10 children. As a teenager, Lilas moved to St. Paul, MN, where she met and married her loving husband of 62 years, Donald Dalnes. In 1970, they moved to Spokane with their four children where Donald worked for Burlington Northern Railroad. As empty nestor's, Lilas and Donald moved to Deer Lake in 1980. After Donald retired, they became snowbirds in Tucson, AZ, where she enjoyed painting classes, couples league bowling, and traveling around the Southwest. She especially loved their cruises to Alaska and Hawaii. Since 1996, they have lived in Deer Park, where she and Donald enjoyed the company of many wonderful friends and became active members of Faith Lutheran Church. Lilas enjoyed tending her flower garden and relaxing on the front porch as friends drove by and waved. Survived by her husband, Donald and four sisters, Velma Lawonn, Donna Kuykendall (Jim), Ann Berger, and Lois Anderson. She is also survived by her four children, Vicky Uphoff of St. Paul, MN, Kurt Dalnes of Minneapolis, MN, Jeff Dalnes (Judy), of Spokane, WA, and Peter Dalnes (Kathy), of Elk, WA, and 12 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents and son-in-law, Keith Uphoff, and five siblings, Helen Olson (Ray), Bernice (Bee) Jorgenson (Hans), Paul Gehrke (Nora), Marilyn Anderson (Harold), and Meredith Anderson (Jack). Don and Lilas were inseparable, always sharing fun stories of their early days and reliving the details as if it were yesturday. They set a great example of what true love really means. We will miss her wonderful smile, blue eyes and laughter. She will forever remain in our hearts and will always be in our thoughts and prayers. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August, 16th at 2:00pm at Faith Lutheran Church, 214 S Weber Road, Deer Park, WA.