Lillian Louise Louderback, 97, passed away Friday, May 6, 2022, in Ft. Collins, CO.

Viewing will be held from 1:00-6:00 p.m. Friday, May 13, at Chaney-Reager Funeral Home with family to receive friends from 4:00-6:00 p.m. A funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, May 14, at First Baptist Church with Pastor Mark Phillips officiating. She will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery.Lillian was born in Crook, Colorado on April 17, 1925, to Lewis and Elvera Harrach who lived on a farm in the Proctor area.

She attended school in Crook, Colorado and graduated from high school in the Class of 1943.  So as luck would have it, she had met George Louderback at a dance.The world was in chaos; George was in San Francisco working on war ships at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyards and her in Colorado having just graduated when she received a proposal to marry in the mail.  It's not clear what happened, but Lillian accepted the proposal by return mail.  The story has a happy ending because she received a ring in the mail soon thereafter and was married on June 24, 1943.  George and Lillian farmed for one year in the Padroni area and then moved into the town of Padroni in 1945 and operated a welding shop repairing farm equipment.

George and Lillian raised five children during this time.  A time that the children thought of this as the best of times, but in 1965 the shop burned down and the family moved to Sterling.  They reopened and manufactured farm implements, truck boxes and wood burning stoves.  Lillian was always involved handling all that the office requires.  They worked hard and in 1984 sold the business and retired.

Retirement provided many winters in Aransas Pass, Texas, where they owned a home in a community of many friends.  Lillian enjoyed the ocean, the sea shells and the ladies of the community, but always longed for family and Colorado as that was her home.

Lillian was preceded in death by her husband George, her parents Lewis and Elvera Harrach, her brother Raymond and her sister Dorothy.

Lillian is survived by five children, Deward and Pat Louderback, Truman and Dena Louderback, Diana and Richard Shockley, Rodney and Kathleen Louderback and George and Charlyn Louderback.  Lillian is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Lillian was loved very much; she will be missed. Contributions may be made in Lillian's memory to Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601.