Arthur Lilla

Military Rites will be performed by the Albin Johnson American Legion Post #244 of Comfrey. There will be a Parish Prayer Service on Wednesday at 6:30 PM at the Sturm Funeral Home Comfrey. Arthur Lilla is survived by his sisters Elizabeth Lilla and Marie Schaefer of Sacramento, CA; children James and wife Leslie Lilla of Sacramento, CA, Suzanne and husband Gregory Brown of Marshalltown, IA, and Renee and husband Jerome Schwagerl of Beardsley, MN.. He will also be missed by his grandchildren, Jennifer and Christopher Lilla; Geoffrey and wife Marty, Elizabeth, Mitchell, and Kathryn Brown; and Lynette, Peter, and Kristin Schwagerl. Arthur was preceded in death by his wife DonnaBelle in 2003, his parents Edward and Clara Lilla, and his brother and sister-in-law, Edward and Viola Lilla of Spokane, WA Art was born December 11, 1913 to Edward and Clara Lilla in Comfrey, MN. His parents both passed away within days of one another in the 1918 influenza epidemic, and he was raised from that point by his grandparents, Peter and Caroline Lilla. He was educated at St. Paul's Catholic School and Comfrey High School, graduating in 1932. He trained as an electrician at Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis until 1934. He was first employed in the Pipestone area, but returned to Comfrey to open his own electrical business, initially working out of the back of the harness shop owned by his uncle, Henry Lilla, and then opening his own store, Lilla 'Lectric. A major portion of his work in the early years involved wiring farmsites as the Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to the area. Art entered the Armed Forces in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps until his discharge in 1945. He spent most of his active duty in air support at McClellan Air Base in Sacramento, CA. Art married his sweetheart of 10 years, DonnaBelle Glaser, on September 21, 1942 in the Rectory of Assumption Church in St. Paul. After Art's basic training was completed, she joined him in Sacramento until the end of the war. They then returned to Comfrey, where they resided for the remainder of their lives. After WWII, he re-opened his Comfrey electrical business. At various points, his building also housed a barber shop, a beauty shop, and the office of an attorney. He began a second career after an appointment to a rural letter carrier position in 1958, and retired from that in 1980. Over the years, he also continued his electrical work as time allowed. After closing the retail electrical shop, he was awarded a contract to convert the building to a US Post Office, and it remained as such until it was destroyed by the 1998 tornado. He loved to sing, whether in various men's groups or local productions such as the Community Cantata, or as a requested soloist for special occasions. When alone, particularly when pondering some repair or fix-it problem, he whistled, as family and former customers could attest. If the problem was particularly vexing, one could expect to hear strains of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" or "All My Trials, Lord". Art was involved extensively in civic affairs, including memberships in the Comfrey Fire Department, Commercial Club, Lions Club (charter member), American Legion, and the Community Education Board. He also served in local government, first as a member of the town council and then as Mayor of Comfrey from 1952 through 1978. Comfrey projects during those years included municipal sewer service, improved storm sewer drainage, and city street paving.