Ila Speer

1938 - 2024

Ila Jean Speer passed away on December 11, 2024, in Gig Harbor, Washington. She was born July 1938, in Pasco, Washington, to Melvin Edward Knapp and Helen Mary Haas Sullivan.

In 1957, Ila married MCPO Alton Earl Speer, beginning a partnership that spanned more than six decades until Alton's passing in April 2020. Together, they built a life marked by devotion, adventure, and shared purpose.

At just 18 years old, Ila earned her beauty operator's license and went on to own and operate a beauty shop in California. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish Petticoat Painters, a painting contractor business in Virginia, and later a donut shop in Darrington, Washington, affectionately named Calories and Coffee. She also spent time flipping houses, transforming spaces into welcoming homes.

Later in life, after raising her children and supporting their education, Ila pursued a new path as a registered nurse at Western State Hospital, where she served with compassion and care.

Ila was the proud mother of two children: Christa Butters of Wauna, Washington, and Scott (Angie) Speer of Forks, Washington. She was also a loving grandmother to Alex (Morris) Jacobson and great-grandmother to Landon and Luke Jacobson, all of Forks.

She is laid to rest alongside her beloved husband at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington-a fitting tribute to their lifelong devotion and shared legacy of service.

A private memorial honoring both Ila J. Speer and MCPO Alton E. Speer will be held on October 3, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that their memory be honored through acts of kindness and adventure-just as they lived their lives.