Lila Mae Schlecht

1925 - 2023

Lila Mae Schlecht

Dec. 20, 1925 - Feb. 7, 2023

Lila Mae Schlecht of Longview, WA, passed away peacefully on February 7th, 2023, surrounded by family at Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, WA, at the age of 97.

Lila was born on December 20, 1925, on the family farm in Sawyer, ND to Alma and Vance Booth. She was the only girl along with four brothers (Cecil, Don, Bob, and Ed).

Lila graduated from Sawyer High School in 1942 and attended Minot University receiving a teaching degree, she then taught grades two through eight near Sawyer, ND.

In 1945, Lila married the love of her life, Robert E. Schlecht. Two years later, in 1947, they moved to Longview and founded Bob's War Surplus (now Bob's Sporting Goods). They purchased their family home where they lived for 71 years, moving to Canterbury Park Independent Living in 2017. Bob and Lila enjoyed traveling the world with their many friends, and also enjoyed many years traveling in a motorhome. They had a beach home in Ocean Park, Washington, where they hosted many friends and family from 1969 to 2020.

Lila was a Past President in the Ladies of Elks and active in the Toutle River Boys Ranch, as well as helping her husband establish and run Bob's War Surplus (Sporting Goods). She was extremely proud that Bob's Sporting Goods continues to operate under the management of her Grandsons, Matt and Mike Schlecht.

With her love of learning, she enjoyed doing crosswords daily and had an incredible vocabulary. She could give dictionary-precise meaning of words that she used in Scrabble and was sharp as a tack playing the game right up to the days before she died. She enjoyed, and won, many games against friends and family, as well as mastered using a tablet and the internet in her mid-90s.

Lila was preceded in death by her parents, all four of her brothers, and her husband Bob (in 2020). She is survived by her three children, all of whom live in Longview – Judy Schlecht, Bob (Arlita) Schlecht and Ed Schlecht (Kathi Conrad). She is also survived by her seven beloved grandchildren: Erik (Lori) Hendrickson, Matt (Heather) Schlecht, Mike Schlecht (Jenny James), Hollie Longtain, Nic (Jess) Clark, all of Longview, WA; Joe (Margo) Hendrickson in Boston, MA; Hayley Hendrickson (Davy Ehlen) in Portland, OR; and numerous Great and Great-Great Grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Lila had a deep faith and once told a friend "I pray all the time, but most of my prayers are "Thank You" because I have no complaints".

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Longview Country Club, 41 Country Club Drive, Longview WA, on Sunday, February 26th from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.