Lillian Pekkala

TRAVERSE CITY — Lillian Hope Pekkala, 87, of Interlochen, died early Tuesday morning, April 3, 2012, while under the loving care of those who work at French Manor Assisted Living and Hospice of Michigan. Born March 4, 1925, in Detroit, she was the daughter of the late Toivo Edward and Annette (Schmidt) Pekkala.While living in the Detroit area, Lillian worked as a secretary for General Electric and later for the Centri Spray Corp. in Livonia, where she retired as a vice president.She was blessed with a very close-knit family who loved, cherished and respected her. " YaYa," as she was affectionately known, will be truly missed.She was also truly a lady in every sense of the word. She had a gentle elegance about her that complimented her grace, beauty and kindness.Lillian loved cats, and very often the neighbors would find their kitties at her house being spoiled.Left to cherish her memory are her sister, Marilyn Shelton, of Lewiston; nieces and nephews, Cynthia Pekkala, of Interlochen, Carol (Robert) Snow, of Colorado Springs, Colo., Craig Pekkala, of Colorado Springs, Colo., William (Kent Echler) Shelton, of Louisville, Ky., Susan Farb, of Simpsonville, S.C., Bonnie (Robert) Hendry, of Black Mountain, N.C., John (Diane) Shelton, of Livonia, Daniel (Susan) Shelton, of Royal Oak, and Joseph (Susan) Shelton, of South Lyon; and a sister-in-law, Maxine Pekkala, of Traverse City.In addition to her parents, Lillian was also preceded in death by her son, Roland W. Pekkala; brother, James (Marjorie) Pekkala; and a brother-in-law, Oakley Shelton.Funeral services will be held at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home on Saturday, April 7, 2012, at 1 p.m., with visitation one hour prior to the service. The Rev. Justin Grimm will officiate. Burial will take place at Oakwood Cemetery.Her family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at French Manor and Hospice of Michigan for the loving care given to Lillian.Kindly share your memories with the family on their online guestbook at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com.Arrangements were made with the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.