Lila Louise Barton

Our family unexpectedly lost a beautiful and lovely member, Lyla Barton. She will be terribly missed by her husband, Jeff Townsend, her daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and Will Burkhardt, her grandsons, Jake and Logan, her stepsons and family, Shawn and Jeff Stapp, her middle sister, Sheri Steigerwald, her older sister and brother-in-law, Kathi and Don DeCapio, her niece and family, Laura Patton, and her nephews, Matthew Steigerwald, Michael Payne and family, and Sean Payne and family.

Lyla lived a life full of adventure. She was very sociable and never met a stranger. She could walk into a place and inevitably someone would say, “Hi Lyla!”. In her early years, she spent time with her Dad riding and taking care of horses. As a young mother, she spent time with her daughter Michelle. The family loved camping at Reservation Lake. Their favorite times were sitting around the fire among the pine trees singing, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”. She and her former husband, Bill Stapp (deceased), owned and managed a successful wholesale plumbing business. You could also find her many weekends on the golf course or in a golf tournament. In the last few years, she often talked about getting back “in the game”. She loved animals…her beagles and her beloved African Gray Parrot, Alfa were the joys of her life. So, it was no surprise that her pet sitting business, Got Paws, was so successful! All of her clients and their pets adored her. She loved spending time with her grandsons, Jake and Logan. You would often see her sitting on the sidelines watching a baseball or soccer game they were playing. As a member of “The Barton Girls”, she kept things lively on many of their adventures. They celebrated her 60th birthday in Napa Valley. Early morning the day after arriving, the area was struck by a 6.0 earthquake! We joked that that was God’s way of shaking things up for her birthday.

Just a couple of years ago, she met the man of her dreams, Jeff Townsend. He was everything she always wanted. They were married in New Orleans in style. They rode a horse drawn buggy through the French Quarter to the wedding chapel. She came to love traveling. Reluctant at first, she grew to like their cruise to Iceland. But, her favorite trip was Africa to see all the wild animals.

She will be sadly missed and will always hold a special place in the hearts of family and friends.

A Celebration of her life is being planned.

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