Lila Olmstead

LILA OLMSTEAD

Cedar Rapids

Lila Olmstead, 97, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, at St. Luke's Hospital. Visitation will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 26, at Cedar Memorial Westside Chapel. Internment in Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery is Saturday, July 27, at 9:30 a.m. with a funeral service and luncheon following at Christ Church Presbyterian starting at 10:30 a.m.

Lila Alma Geiger was born Jan. 18, 1922, in Norway, Iowa, to Henry and Wilhelmina (Haldy) Geiger. After the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Lila attended country school Edgewood No. 1 through eighth grade. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1939.

She married William Olmstead on Nov. 30, 1941, in Cedar Rapids. They spent several years immediately after their marriage in the southern part of the United States where Bill served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. The rest of their married life was spent in the Cedar Rapids area. Lila lived in the country with Bill and their family for 25 years; then Lila continued to live on the farm for another 27 years following Bill's death in 1980 before moving back to Cedar Rapids.

Survivors include two daughters, Angela Vikesland (John) of Blacksburg, Va., and Wiletta "Lettie" Eckberg (Eric) of Rochester, Minn.; two sons, William Olmstead, Jr. (Paula) of Loveland, Colo., and Daniel Olmstead (Barb) of Center Point, Iowa; nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Evelyn "Sue" Olmstead of Cedar Rapids.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her brother, Henry; and one grandson, Christopher Vikesland.

One of Lila's talents was her ability with words. She enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, clipping cartoons from the newspaper and making up puns and sayings. She and Bill spent many hours working on genealogical research, which culminated in Lila's authorship of four family memoirs including two for the Olmstead family and two for the Geiger family. These were labors of love and remain as a legacy for many others.

Lila thoroughly enjoyed people. Her interests included volunteer work, activities at her church and most of all spending time with her family. She will be sorely missed by her loved ones, many friends and acquaintances.

Online condolences may be left at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Amana Historical Society in Amana, Iowa.