Lillian Alberta Mehlhoff

Lillian Alberta (Moline) Mehlhoff, loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother went to be with her Lord and Savior at the age of 94 on June 1, 2021. Lillian was a middle child of 6 born to Albert and Rose (Herringer) Moline on May 4, 1927 in Barlow, North Dakota.

Lillian attended grade school in Brantford, North Dakota and then attended high school in New Rockford, graduating in 1947 and later attending Nampa Nazarene College to receive her teaching certificate. She came back to Brantford and taught school in a remote one room school house and would travel home on the weekends by getting a lift in a neighbor’s airplane.

She met Lawrence Mehlhoff at church and while he knew right away she was the one, she took a little more convincing but soon they were married on February 11 1958 in Brantford. They then settled near Tuttle and had three children, Larry, Linda, and Lenny. After one too many North Dakota blizzards they moved to the Paradise Valley of Montana in 1979.

After bouncing around a little bit, the family moved to the Ruby Valley in 1988. She loved taking care of her family and if it was anywhere close to meal time at her house, you would be staying for supper.

Lillian suffered a stroke in 2014 which took some of her mobility and caused her to move into the Tobacco Root Care Center where she spent the last 7 years of her life. The transition was difficult at first but she came to realize that this was exactly where God wanted her to witness to those around her and share the hope that she had in Christ.

Lillian loved chickens and had quite an enterprise producing meat and eggs for sale at different stages in her life. At one time she had 800 laying hens and is quoted in a book about ranch wives of Montana saying “a basket of white eggs, there’s just nothing hardly prettier”. She loved to cook, especially the family’s favorite German foods like fleischkuechle and kase knepfla. When it came time for canning you could often find her at the farmer’s market selecting the best cucumbers, cabbage, or tomatoes from the Hutterites that would soon become that season’s batch of canned goods. If you knew Lillian you probably received a towel (or several) at some point during your relationship. She would spend a good amount of time picking out the perfect color of yarn and just the right button for each.

Jesus was the focus of her life and she shared Christ with everyone she knew. She was known for giving out Daily Bread Devotionals and memory verse cards to many and shared her faith with all those around her, living to serve the Lord each day. Lillian also took 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to heart and prayed without ceasing for so many with constant intercession; a true prayer warrior.

Lillian was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Lawrence of 44 years, all of her siblings and her son-in-law Denny. She is survived by her sons and daughter Larry (Lisa), Lenny, and Linda; grandchildren Laramie, Larisa (Zach), Landon (Amy), Larinda (David), Logan, Lauren (Randy), JD, Brooke, Yanzie; great grandchildren Titus, Jager, Azalee, Presley, Laredo, Charlynn, and Oakley.



Family will be receiving friends from 4-7pm on June 7th at K & L Mortuary in Sheridan. A graveside service will take place at 10:00 am on Tuesday June 8th at the Mountain View Cemetery in Dillon.