Lila and Dobby just sittin’ on a hay bale… Washington State College prom?

“So now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

— 1 Corinthians 13

Last weekend the community came together to honor Lila Wiegardt who died March 28. Many of us have been touched by Lila and Dobby and the Wiegardt family over the years: through their singing, art, veggies, flowers, oystering and clamming, community service, and just good solid family love and caring.

So we gathered at Dune’s Bible Camp, as a community, 150 of us or more, to pay our regards, hug folks, talk story, eat, and reminisce in the tradition of peoples everywhere who’ve lost a beloved member of their kin. It was old home week for sure — many people came together from cities, counties, and states far away. After the funeral proper, the cafeteria was abuzz with conversation and activity and ‘hullos’ called from across the room.

It was heart warming to watch the little Wiegardts gamboling around the buildings and grounds. And my favorite was seeing the mommas and pappas holding the hands of, bending down to speak to, or caressing all the little people and future citizens of the world. I couldn’t help thinking what a great world it would be if all the growing-up young people could be raised by Wiegardts. It’s so clear that love begets love.

One of the most touching parts of the ceremony was Dobby standing up to read for us his memories of how he and Lila met and, finally, made the commitment to each other. It’s one of those tender stories about love at first sight.

After the ceremony the Wiegardts lined up outside the cafeteria door to thank everyone for coming. Hundreds of hugs were delivered; many tears were shed. I told Dobby, after my hug, that I loved hearing his Lila story; and he surprised me by reaching inside his suit coat pocket and handing me four sheets of folded, slightly crumpled notebook paper full of his longhand cursive. (I treasured being the keeper of this artifact for the week — now back in the mail to him.)

Meeting Lila

This is their story, at least Dobby’s version of it:

“In the fall of 1948, I started college at WSC in Pullman. My father had suggested that I should meet a wheat rancher’s daughter so we’d have a place to hunt pheasant. My sophomore year my fraternity had an after dinner dance with the Delta Gamma sorority. As I was dancing with one of them, I looked across the room and saw a beautiful smiling co-ed. I’ll never forget that moment!

”Later I asked some friends about her and they said she was a great gal. So eventually I asked Lila out for a ‘coke date’ at the Cougar Cottage. Since she was still living at home with her folks, I walked her home. It was raining and cold and when we reached her house she said, ‘Thank you,’ opened her front door and said, ‘Goodbye.’ As she opened her door I could smell a dinner being cooked. Later I found out that her mother expected me to eat dinner with them… it was a long walk in the rain back to my fraternity. We dated on and off, but I found out she had a boyfriend at Pullman High School.

”Later I found out her father was a wheat farmer!”

Jackie?

“In my third year in college I decided to go to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. I was thinking about going into the diplomatic corps. In an English composition class there was an interesting co-ed named Jackie. One of our assignments was to write about where we grew up. I wrote about fishing in the Columbia River and ocean, clam digging, duck hunting, picking oysters, etc. I was kind of thinking of asking Jackie for a date but my description of where I grew up didn’t seem to impress her. But, OK, I was really more interested in Lila. Don’t feel sorry for Jackie though — she went on to marry John F. Kennedy!

“I returned to WSC after one semester in D.C. I realized I wouldn’t be happy living in that environment, and I wanted to be around Lila. She eventually stopped seeing her old boyfriend and I gave her my fraternity pin and we became engaged. Lila had over a year left to graduate and I needed to serve two years in the Air Force. While serving in Korea I got a letter from Lila that she had won a cow-milking contest at WSC. I was so proud of her.”

[At this point Dobby stopped reading and looked out at us in the audience and said “My Air Force buddies didn’t know what to say about of a girl who was a cow-milking winner.”]

“When I got back from Korea I was supposed to go to Pullman right away to prepare for our wedding, but dad said duck hunting was great, so I called Lila and said I’d be a couple days late. NOT GOOD.”

Back home

He continues:

“We were married in Pullman and honeymooned at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. I hadn’t seen any good movies in a year so we saw ‘Bedtime for Bongo’ with Ronald Reagan and a monkey. We eventually moved back to Ocean Park and soon had three children. Lila had an appointment with Dr. [John] Campiche and when she came out of his office the first thing she said was, ‘Let’s go to the appliance store.’ When I asked why she said she wanted a dishwasher because Dr. Campiche said she was going to have twins.

Pull Quote

Lila had an appointment with Dr. [John] Campiche and when she came out of his office the first thing she said was, ‘Let’s go to the appliance store.’ When I asked why she said she wanted a dishwasher because Dr. Campiche said she was going to have twins.

“Most of you know the rest of the story. We had over 69 years together. Oh yes, I got two pheasants and five children out of my dad’s advice, and a wonderful wife.”

Dobby, just so you know, I might have bailed out after “Bedtime for Bongo,” but lucky for us Lila stuck with you and added so much to our community, not the least of which is that batch of amazing Wiegardts you two cooked up. (And there are still some great grand babies in the oven!). We mourn the loss of another community “queen pin” and look forward to finding out how this next crew of Wiegardts will address the problems we’re leaving for them. But I’d say it’s a sure thing that love will be part of the equation.