Rilla Eleanor Clem

Rilla Eleanor Quantrille was born to Charles and Ruth Quantrille on March 26th, 1929 in Wapato, Washington. She and her two younger sisters grew up during the Great Depression on the family farm. She attended Wapato High School (with perfect attendance the entire way), and it was there that she met Verlan Clem, a dashing pilot and baseball player, who was a year ahead of her. Rilla and Verlan married in 1948, first settling in Yakima, where Valerie (1952) and Brad (1954) were born, then moving to Seattle in 1956. In 1962, during the Century 21 Exhibition, the family was completed with the birth of David.

Verlan's work then brought them to the Tri-Cities in the early 60's, which became home until 1977. During that time, Rilla joined National Bank of Commerce (later Rainier Bank), where she worked her way up to being an installment loan officer. The family then moved to Bothell, where Rilla became the manager of the local Capital Savings and Loan, a position she held until her retirement 14 years later.

More than anything, Rilla loved to travel. The family regularly visited Long Beach in the summer, and most every year had a family trip someplace. Disneyland. The Redwoods. Oklahoma. Washington DC. New York. Boston. After her children were grown, trips to Hawaii and Europe were added. After Verlan's passing in 1995, she often traveled with her sister, Joanne, to Mexico and Florida. Next to travel, reading was her other favorite activity, a pastime that she passed down to her children. She held reading and learning in very high regard. The family dinner table was often the scene of quizzing her children about word definitions and looking up facts in the encyclopedia. She also made sure that her children could speak and write proper English.

Rilla was a devoted wife to Verlan for 47 years and a loving mother for 72 years. She was a strong, independent woman for the last 30 years of her life. Thanks to her cheerful and easy-going personality, she had a large and diverse circle of friends throughout her life. Hers was a life well-lived.

Rilla was preceded in death by her husband, Verlan Charles Clem. She is survived by her daughter, Valerie Margulis (Bob), and her sons Bradley (Claudia) and David (Brenna), as well as five grandchildren and four great-children, along with her sisters, Joanne Chezum of Vancouver and Nancy Brown of Yakima.