Lili Ann Wall

Lili A. Wall, 88, was artist, musician and world traveler Lili A. Wall grew up in a little United Nations � or so it seemed. With a Latvian father and Ukrainian mother, her neighbors included Swedes, Poles, Germans, Czechs, Scots, Russians, and Italians. For added interest, her father was Lutheran, her mother Eastern Orthodox and she attended 7th Day Adventist schools before becoming a Methodist. Life-long friendships overcame any language and religious differences. An outgoing person, she made friends easily and brought happiness to many in a lifetime of love and caring. Mrs. Wall died February 6, 2008 in Overland Park, Kansas. She was born in Chicago in 1919 and grew up in nearby Hinsdale with her younger sister, Rosalee. She was a graduate of Hinsdale High School and took business courses before becoming Assistant to the President of a Chicago bank. After marrying Larry Wall in 1942, she became an Army wife and saw many places she had only read about. As a world traveler, she visited 18 countries and lived in Germany twice. When not traveling, she enjoyed painting in oils, dancing, and playing the piano. Three months after her son was born in 1950, her husband was sent to combat in Korea. It was upon his return 11 months later that she became �famous.� Wanting to surprise him when his troop ship arrived in San Francisco, she fashioned a big sign that read: �LARRY, COME TO ME� and attached it to a long pole. As luck would have it, an Associated Press photographer captured her waving it back and forth on the dock as her husband�s ship approached. That picture and another of her �Welcome Home� kiss made the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, and many other papers. Thus, her 15 minutes of fame! Her family moved to Germany in 1954. In spite of her fear of water, she took her son and boarded an ocean liner to cross the Atlantic to reunite with her husband. For 3 years they traveled the continent, cruised the Mediterranean Sea and made wonderful life-long friends. In 1957, her family returned stateside to Vicksburg, MS and later moved to Ft. Custer, MI where her husband retired from the Army in 1962. She worked at the FAA so that her husband could complete his B.A. degree in 1964. After he began his second career with Civil Service, her family moved to Bay Village OH where she lived for another 32 years. In 1976, she and her husband visited her son, who was by then stationed in Germany, himself in the Army. This visit allowed them to renew old friendships begun 30 years earlier! After her son�s marriage in 1979, her twin granddaughters arrived in 1985. She delighted in those granddaughters, especially when they visited her to attend Vacation Bible School at her church. She enjoyed 50 years of a loving marriage until losing her husband in 1992. Five weeks later she also lost her sister. She remained active in bridge and church groups, visiting home-bound elderly and serving meals to the needy. In 2005 she relocated to Kansas to be near her son, where she remained until her death. She leaves her son, Craig, daughter-in-law Gene, and twin granddaughters Margaret and Katherine. Memorial services will be at 1:00 p.m. on March 10th at D. W. Newcomer�s Sons Johnson County Chapel, 11200 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66204