Lylia Kirkpatrick

Lylia Kirkpatrick was born September 3, 1931, to Ella Banks Graham and Lyle Olean Graham in Cowley, Wyoming. She joined all of her family in heaven on October 12, 2024, in Casper, Wyoming.

Lylia was one of five children with siblings, Ella Eugenia, Lillian, William Kieth, and Donald Ray. These five siblings were particularly close with working together, playing together, and protecting each other. As a child, her family moved around between Utah, Wyoming, and Montana., but the majority of her young life was spent in the Cowley, Wyoming, area. At a young age, she worked in the fields and took care of farm animals. She learned early in life to work hard and to play hard, and this was the way she continued to live her life.

When she was a teenager Lylia and her older sister Eugenia would sing and put on a presentation to sell war bonds during WWII. She also worked in the cannery with her older sister and prisoners of war from Germany. After graduating from High School she moved with her sister Eugenia and her husband Frank Bellamy to Casper, Wyoming, for Frank to work at the refinery. When they got to Casper, they lived in a motel until they could find a place to live. The motel was owned by Aurther and Lillian Kirkpatrick. Lylia met their son and on December 10, 1949, Lylia married the love of her life, Robert Kirkpatrick. 

Robert and Lylia bought the house across the road from the motel and started remodeling it. They expanded the house for their expanding family. Lylia and Robert had two sons, Ronald, and Richard. They loved being involved in their lives. They went to the boys’ baseball games and took them camping and boating. They owned a number of businesses throughout their lives, including a filling station, water hauling service, and long-haul trucking. During all of this time, Lylia was the office manager, running the business from their office in the home, while Robert, Ron, and Rick were out providing service to their customers. 

Lylia was also very active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ helped Lylia through many trials, including the death of your oldest son, Ron, in a plane crash and the loss of her husband, Robert, and her youngest son, Rick. She served in positions in the Primary with the little children and in the Relief Society. She loved working in the church. She was involved in many events, like running the cafeteria at the fairgrounds during the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo and helping with bazaars at the church. One job she particularly loved was being the activity chairwoman and working with her niece, Julie, and friend, Bryan Bowen in planning parties and activities for her church ward. She loved using her creative skills to make the parties fun and beautiful.

Lylia has lived a long life of work, fun, and service to others. Her smile, laugh, great sense of humor, and backbone of steel will be missed. She is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Ella Eugenia Bellamy and Lillian Fry, her brother William Keith Graham, her husband Robert Kirkpatrick, sons Ronald and Richard, and several nieces and nephews. What a reunion they are having now! She leaves behind her brother, Donald Graham, four granddaughters, and their families, and several nieces and nephews and their families. She also has left behind a very large number of “adopted” members of her family. ‘Til we meet again