Elsie R'Gean (Thomson) Lillibridge, age 84

Elsie R’Gean (Thomson) Lillibridge, age 84, passed away January 28, 2017 in Lewiston, Idaho. R’gean was born July 25, 1932 in Provo, Utah to William Robert Thomson and Leona Elsie (Carter) Thomson. Her father worked for the Union Pacific, Orem Line, and Denver and Rio Grande railroads, and the family moved throughout Utah and Colorado following her father’s work. She attended Westminster College in Salt Lake City where she received a BA in secondary education with a major in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. From 1953 to 1960 she taught in Idaho and California. From 1960 to 1966 she was a civilian teacher with the Air Force, working in such locations as Brize Norton AFB (England), Wheelus AFB (Libya), Ramstein AFB (Germany), Clark AFB (Phillipines), and Tachikawa AFB (Japan). During the summers she returned to the states and earned her Masters in Educational Psychology at the University of Utah with the goal of becoming a school counselor.

She met Roger Lillibridge in 1968 at a dance in Salt Lake City, Utah. They got engaged and married that same year. They moved to Pinehurst, Idaho in 1970 when Roger was transferred to the Lucky Friday Mine. They had two sons - William John and Thomas Edward. In 1974 she became a counselor at Kellogg Junior High, where she worked until 1991.

R’Gean was very active in Cub Scouts, where she was a den mother for both her sons. The family’s activities revolved around the outdoors - Boy Scouts, camping, fishing, mushroom and huckleberry picking, firewood gathering, travelling, and rock hounding. She was a deacon at her church for many years, and spent many hours making quilts to send overseas. After her sons had grown, she and Roger travelled extensively visiting family and friends across the US. They still spent much of the summer collecting firewood and hunting for mushrooms and huckleberries.

R’Gean is survived by her sons Bill (Diane) and Tom and two grandsons. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and her brother Glenn Thomson.

R’Gean’s memorial service will be held March 4, 2017 at 11am at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 15 S Division Street, Pinehurst, ID. A reception with storytelling, picture book viewing, and refreshments will follow the service in the church basement.