Lila

SHREWSBURY/MILFORD, NH - Lila-ann (Lane) Rockefeller, 89, formerly of Shrewsbury and Auburn MA, and Nashua and Milford, NH, passed away peacefully Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at Oakdale Skilled Nursing Facility in W. Boylston, MA. Born in Detroit on April 19, 1925, to Theodore T. and Lillian R. (Fritsche) Lane, she left high school to sing with the Detroit Light Opera and the USO, and later brought those talents to Miami, FL, where she briefly sang professionally while raising her daughters.

In addition to being a homemaker and single parent, Lila had an eclectic range of jobs and creative interests. An avid quilter, she was a church choir member and held positions (sometimes simultaneously) as a seamstress, school bus driver, telephone operator, waitress and ER receptionist. She brought joy to many by playing Santa Claus (particularly for hospitalized children) and by being a clown (Fa-So-La) for different groups. She enjoyed repairing things and knew her way around a toolbox; she collected dolls, coins, stamps…and more. Lila had enough creative ideas for ten lifespans and always had a handful of projects in the works. Her most ambitious one was an 8’x9’ quilt in honor of her mother’s 80th birthday. It included squares individually drawn by her mother’s family and friends and four U.S. presidents, which Lila then embroidered, quilted and sewed together. It took six years to complete. In 1986, she moved to New Hampshire to work and be near her daughters and granddaughters, and later advocated for adults with ADD.

She belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary, Clown Club of America, the Miami Cursillo community, Methodist church families wherever she lived, and the Hannah Dustin Quilt Guild of Hudson, NH, with whom she made quilts for David’s House at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Lila held most dear her faith in God, her family and music. She retained an extensive musical memory, and when prompted with a single word, could launch into a song related to that word. She used her faith and the power of music to lift the spirits of others and to put people at ease, from hospital patients to prisoners. Once, while being wheeled into the OR, she asked the surgeon his favorite song, then offered up a full-throated version of the tune before yielding to the anesthesia.

She was loving, funny, generous, stubborn, forgiving, resilient, proudly patriotic and unconventional. Following a life filled with music, she now is surely a happy new member of God’s heavenly choir.

She is survived by her daughters, Nancy Rockefeller of Lebanon, NH, and Dorie R. McKeeman and husband, Bill, of Hollis, NH; granddaughters Kerren McKeeman of Hollis, NH, and Kaleen McKeeman of Berlin, Germany; and a number of nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her parents; a sister, Dorothea J. Lavish; and a brother, Theodore T. Lane, Jr.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend memorial calling hours from 3-6 p.m., Saturday, January 10, 2015, at Miles Funeral Home, 100 Worcester Road, Sterling, MA. Interment in East Cemetery, Hollis, NH, will follow a private celebration of her life in spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to David’s House, PO Box 660, Lebanon, NH, 03766, www.davids-house.org .

Arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home, Sterling, MA. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please “Sign the Guestbook” on this page.