Lillian Olivia Brockel

Lillian Olivia Brockel, peacefully went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus, on March 7th, 2016. Lillian was a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the time of her passing which was brought on due to her dementia illness, which she fought with such dignity and grace until the very end.

Lillian was born on August 16, 1930 in Lemmon, South Dakota to Haakon and Marta (Underland) Skjoldal where she was raised on the family farm near Thunder Hawk along with her seven siblings. Lillian and her family’s lives on the farm during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years of the 1930’s were not without heartache. For the first three years of her life, Lillian was raised by her mother’s brother Martin Underland and his wife Emily due to her mother Marta’s illness. Eventually, her mother was hospitalized for the remainder of her life when Lillian was very young. An infant sister, Ruth, died of a childhood illness at two years of age during that time. A few short years later, the family would also lose their father Haakon to a farm accident injury on Christmas Eve when Lillian was only ten. The eight children were then raised by their father’s sister, Aunt Olufina, who spoke mostly Norwegian and very little English, but was a strong woman of God. Lillian went on to graduate from Lemmon High School in 1950. Being the adventurous type, Lillian jumped at the opportunity to leave the farm life to stay with a high school friend’s aunt in New York City shortly after high school. This eventually landed her a modeling job for Lord and Taylor during her time in the Big Apple. After a year in New York City, Lillian ventured to the West Coast where she became an airline flight attendant for Slick Airways based out of San Francisco, California.

During a trip to North Dakota to visit her sister, Millie, Lillian met her future husband, Dale Brockel, and fell in love. They were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Minot, North Dakota on July 15, 1955 and made their home in the Burlington-Minot area. Lillian became a wonderful homemaker during those years that she raised her four sons, Kevin, Brad, Lance and Derrick. As they were growing up, Lillian worked as a part-time cook at Burlington Elementary School and the North Dakota Boys Ranch outside of Minot. In the fall of 1977, while the two younger sons, Lance and Derrick, were in high school, Lillian became employed as the librarian at Berthold High School, where they attended, working for 16 years before finally retiring in 1993. During that time, she would also watch and care for the grade school kids during recess and because of the love and kindness she gave to them, Lillian would often receive letters and cards many years later thanking her for the impact she had on their lives. On the plaque of the gift presented to her at her retirement was the inscription “Thank you for being our Student’s MOM away from Home”.

On July 24, 1999, Dale and Lillian’s oldest son, Kevin, passed away suddenly while at their home due to complications with a long battle with lupus. On July 15, 2005, Dale and Lillian celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary, but just two short months later, Dale also went home to be with the Lord on September 7th. Shortly after the sale of her home to the North Dakota Highway Department in 2006, it was then that her sons moved her down to Colorado Springs to have her close to them and her five grandchildren – Allie, Xander, Connor, Dylan and Brooke. Lillian loved being involved in all her son’s and their family’s lives whether it was celebrating the holidays together, attending her grandkid’s birthday parties, their school or sporting events, performances, concerts, etc. She was always their biggest fan and loved them all so dearly. She remained independent where she lived on her own renting a condo at Pinon Sun in Colorado Springs. We will always treasure the memories of Mom having us all over for her weekend breakfast cookouts where she made her delicious waffles from her old-fashioned waffle maker, the summer barbecues by the pool-side at her condo and walks with her in the park close by. It was here, that Lillian acquired her beautiful miniature Sheltie Collie, Mollie, that she nicknamed “Baby Love”. They were inseparable and provided so much joy and companionship for one another up until Mollie’s passing in 2015.

During those years in Colorado Springs, Lillian also became an active member of Sunnyside Christian Church where she loved to worship her Lord Jesus every Sunday and could be seen wearing her many beautiful outfits and hats. She especially loved being a part of Stan & Ruth Sack’s Wednesday night bible study group whom she loved dearly and was so loved by. Lillian was a strong woman of faith and a faithful “prayer warrior”. She had such a heart for the hurting and would often join her sons for hospital visitations to pray for those in need. The Lord also put a burden on her heart for starving children where she loved to serve in the “Kids against Hunger” ministry at Sunnyside, helping prepare and package meals to be sent to starving children around the world.

Lillian lived on her own until the progression of her dementia illness no longer allowed her to. It was at this time that she and her dog, Mollie, moved into an apartment at the Winslow Court Assisted Living Facility in March 2014. Lillian developed many close loving relationships with the residents and staff at Winslow Court, as well as with her caregivers at New Century Hospice, all of who loved and cared for her. One of the Physical Therapists (Jack) had even given her the nickname “Diamond Lil” because of her radiant smile and personality. All who knew her there will always remember how much she loved the musical entertainment and would often be seen next to the piano, dancing and moving her hands to the music.

Lillian was a beautiful loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She will be remembered as a strong woman of faith with a fun sense of humor and beautiful smile. But mostly she will be remembered for her kind, gentle spirit and how she taught her family how to love. She will be greatly missed by all who loved her. She is survived by her sons and their wives Brad (Sheri), Lance (Janice), and Derrick (Kim); her five grandchildren Allie, Xander, Connor, Dylan, and Brooke; her sisters Ann Anderson (Skjoldal) of Ronan, MT, and Esther Wolff (Skjoldal) of Monmouth, OR, brother Sherman Skjoldal of Preshoe, SD, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She is preceded in death by her husband Dale Brockel, son Kevin Brockel, parents Haakon and Marta Skjoldal, Aunt Olufina Skjoldal, Uncle Martin & Aunt Emily Underland, brothers Henry and Malven Skjoldal, and sisters Ruth Skjoldal, Millie Scott (Skjoldal) and Shirley Rhodes (Skjoldal).

Visitation will be at Swan-Law Funeral Home, 501 North Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, Friday, March 11th, 5:00-8:00 pm. Flowers may be sent to this address prior to visitation. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Sunnyside Christian Church, 2025 N. Murray Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80915, Saturday, March 12th at 3:00 pm.