- Date Of Birth: May 20, 1911
- Date Of Death: February 21, 2011
- State: Illinois
Mary Lillian Terwilliger of Virginia, IL completed her life on earth on February 21, 2011, at the age of 99, leaving a legacy of a life well-lived. She will be remembered for her creativity, her passion for learning, her compassion for those less fortunate, and her deep love of family. She was born May 20, 1911, in Bradford, IL to Ray and Julia Cooney Blaisdell who influenced and shaped her productive life.
She attended elementary and high school in Bradford and following graduation married Shaw Terwilliger on August 31, 1929.
Two months after Shaw and Lil were married, the stock market crashed. Shaw was a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and worked on campus as a night janitor while Lil worked in a shoe store as a clerk. Upon his graduation, Shaw began a teaching career that included stops in Buda, Williamsfield, Milledgeville, Bradford, and finally Virginia. Lil was active as a frequent chaperone at school dances and helped with many community events. Lil worked at the ASCS office in Virginia for several years after her children were grown. She loved to dance, especially with Shaw, the love of her life.
Shaw and Lil were the parents of five children, Dr. John Elmer Terwilliger (wife, Dr. Edith) of Charleston, Nancy Craig (deceased husband, Jack) of Wyoming, Ill., Dr. James Shaw (wife, Carlene) Terwilliger of St. Paul, Minn, Judy Briggs (deceased husband, W. Wayne), of Virginia and Sally Dahman (husband, Marc) of Jacksonville.
The Terwilligers nurtured several other children over the years by giving them a place to call home.
Lil’s concern for others children led to the establishment of an annual scholarship at the University of Illinois for an education major. She was also an avid supporter of the Lillian School in India, which was named in her honor, and was the benefactor of a gazebo in the community park in her hometown of Bradford. Lil provided the finances and was instrumental in starting an agricultural program at the Piney Woods School in Miss.
Lil was a member of the Virginia United Methodist Church where she had been a Sunday School teacher, was active in the United Methodist Women, and served on several committees.
Although she had 18 grandchildren, they all felt they were the most special. Lil was a deeply involved grandmother and great grandmother, and a gracious hostess to visitors of all ages.
Lil was an avid reader and in her retirement years, she frequently read six books a week. She loved to cook and maintained that interest until her last weeks. She was a frequent letter writer, keeping in touch with family and friends. She mastered the computer for email purposes to better keep in touch with her younger family members.
Survivors include her five children, eighteen grandchildren, twenty-eight great-grandchildren, seven great-great-grandchildren, three brothers, Bob Blaisdell of Tulsa, OK, John Blaisdell of Bradford, and Tom Blaisdell of Bradford, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Shaw on July 16, 1997, a great-grandson, Eric Smith, a sister, Helen Renner, and a brother, Chauncey Blaisdell.
