Lucille Marie Stilson McKinney was born on November 18th, 1946 to William Keith and Eliza Marie Hardeman Stilson in Jackson, Wyoming.
Lucille’s grandfather, William Lacy Stilson came to the valley in 1896, along with his sister Bessie and mother Lauretta, after the death of his father, William. Gerrit Hardeman, Lucille’s grandfather, emigrated from the Netherlands in 1910 and arrived in Jackson in 1912.
When she was one, Keith, Marie, and Lucille moved to Camp Davis down the Hoback Junction. For entertainment, Keith built Lucille a box sled for the winter and while sledding one day, she gained too much speed, running over Keith’s snow shoes, knocking him down and headed straight for the river. Luckily, Keith reacted quick enough to save Lucille from going in.
As a young child, Lucille was exposed to the Stilson Family hunting and outfitting business at a very early age as she went on her first pack trip when she was just three years old. She rode a horse that she called Mr. Johnson and claimed that he bucked her off. However, Keith claimed she fell off. The truth remains a mystery.
During the winter and spring seasons, Keith worked on local ranches including the Red Rock Ranch, Snake River Ranch and the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch. For several winters, the family went out of the valley to find work, spending some time in San Pablo, California and Naples, Florida. These winters found Lucille enrolled in new schools and making new friends.
At 13 years old, the Stilson’s moved to the Bar Double R Dude Ranch. Lucille’s first and favorite job was to wrangle horses for her father on the ranch. Her other jobs included cooking, cleaning rooms, and using a gasoline powered washing machine due to a lack of electricity.
Later that summer, her Uncle Earl Hardeman, hired Lucille to cook for the hay crew. He took her to town to buy the groceries and supplies. After the purchase, Lucille was nervous she had overspent. She told Earl that she had spent $80.00. His response was “Hell, I should let you buy my groceries all the time!” Thrilled by his response, she began preparing her first dinner. While Uncle Earl only asked her to prepare the meat, Lucille surprised everyone with a fully cooked meal that included fresh baked bread.
In the fall of ‘59, Keith felt Lucille was too young to ride one of their horses, Noble Sam. When she was close to 14 years old, Keith told her one night to go get on Noble Sam. Anxious and excited, she climbed on him and wrangled the rest of the horses with ease. This proved to Keith that Lucille was ready for a bigger challenge; the winter drive to Lozier’s Ranch in Dubois. Lucille and her Uncle Glen Stilson started the drive at the Bar Double R Ranch, making the trek through the Gros Ventre, along the Green River, past Triangle C to the Lozier Ranch where the Stilson horses wintered. From ’59-’64, Lucille worked at the Bar Double R Ranch in the summers and at the Stilson hunting camp during the fall and winter months.
After graduating from Jackson-Wilson high school in 1965, Lucille attended the Excelsis Beauty College in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Upon graduation a year later, she began working for Clara Bush at the Gai Mode. She continued to work for Clara for eight years and always took special care of her clients, whom she called “my ladies.” In 1972 she returned to work for Keith and Marie. She was back to her first love: wrangling horses, cooking for hunters, and spending time with her folks. She also ran horse stables for Keith and Marie at Teton Village in the summer months.
In 1976 Lucille began working for Wade Clifford and Dorothy Barker at Doorway to Beauty. While working at the beauty salon she also worked for the hunting camp on the banks of Crystal and Jag Creek.
Perhaps because Lucille had always been around new people, she could always strike up a conversation and make a new friend. She never met a stranger and her ability to recall people and their relations was truly amazing. Hands down, she was known as the “Family Historian.”
Lucille met her husband, Daniel “Bear” Dale McKinney, in the summer of 1979. Bear arrived in Jackson Hole on August 23rd, 1978, from Las Cruces NM, and began working for outfitter Paul Gilroy. After returning the next summer, Bear met Keith as Paul had hired the two to help with the pack trips at the Teton Valley Ranch. Through this relationship, Bear met Lucille and they began dating.
During the winter, Bear returned to work in a feed lot south of El Paso, Texas as Lucille stayed in Jackson and continued their long distance relationship. Bear returned in the summer of ’80, continuing to work for Paul. That fall, Bear proposed to Lucille in the kitchen of the Stilson house and they were wed on November 7th, 1980 at Keith and Marie’s.
Lucille’s maid of honor was high school classmate Carla Johnson and Bear’s best man was his grandfather, George McKinney.
Bear and Lucille returned to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first winter of their marriage. Bear worked for a farm auction company, while Lucille became acquainted with the McKinney Family. She would often make Bear custom made shirts to fit her husband perfectly. The McKinney’s returned to Jackson in the spring of ’81, while Lucille returned to Doorway to Beauty. In 1982, Lucille bought Wade out of the business and became partners with Dorothy.
Bear drove school buses during the school year and was a fishing guide during the summers. Lucille continued at the beauty shop until the birth of their only child, Daniel Keith McKinney, on October 26th, 1986. They kept their jobs throughout Dan’s childhood.
On their way home from a two week motorhome trip with Dan in the summer of 1993, Keith and Marie stopped to visit Marie’s brother Howard and wife Betty Hardeman in Victor, MT. The Stilson’s fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and after calling Jackson home for their entire lives, Keith and Marie left for Big Sky Country the following year.
In ‘95, the McKinney’s soon followed and made the move to Hamilton, MT so Dan could be close to his grandparents. As they departed north, Lucille said, “I will always be a Jackson Hole girl at heart.”
The Stilson’s owned and operated Riverside RV park in Hamilton, as Bear worked at the park while Lucille owned Whistle Stop Daycare. She enjoyed the kids but often stated, “I’m glad I only have one.”
Keith, with the help of Lucille, began raising mules on the ranch. Ranch life was quite an education for all, especially Dan. This is where he learned the art of “Ranch Lingo” from his grandpa Keith. Let’s just say, not much of it was appropriate for school.
After the passing of Keith in ‘97, Lucille returned to cutting hair in a nursing home and knitting. Her favorite things to make were socks and would often give those out as Christmas gifts. Bear substitute taught and Dan became heavily involved in sports. Marie, Bear, and Lucille followed Dan all over the Great Northwest to watch his baseball games. Some of Lucille’s favorite memories were on the road with the “baseball boys”.
Upon Dan’s graduation in 2005 and the passing of Marie shortly thereafter, Bear and Lucille retired and moved to Bozeman, MT so Bear could attend college at Montana State University.
At the time, Dan was attending MSU. Lucille had designed and built her dream home in a subdivision in Belgrade, MT. She loved designing, planning, and organizing houses as this was the 2nd one they built. While living there, the property became infested with chiselers. Lucille took it upon herself to control the population as she was known to the neighbors as “Annie Oakley”. Her retirement was short lived, just as the chiselers lives were.
The last 10 years, Bear and Lucille spent a majority of their time visiting family and friends around the country and always took the time to catch “their kids” baseball or softball games. She relished the opportunity to catch up with old classmates, family, friends and acquaintances. She was a wonderful cook and if you ever had one of Lucille’s meals or tried her fabled recipes, it didn’t disappoint.
One of Lucille’s last wishes was to see Dan, and girlfriend Lisa, married. Upon the arrival of the couple on vacation in Bozeman, the “kids” wed on June 9th, 2016 with 5 days of planning. When asked when they were engaged and how did he propose, Dan simply said, “Lucille proposed and we all said yes.” She was thrilled to welcome Lisa to the family.
When she was 21 years old, Lucille received radiation treatments due to her battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the fall of 2013, Lucille was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and went in for surgery to replace her aortic valve. The surgery was deemed successful; however, the radiation caused pulmonary fibrosis in her lungs.
This didn’t stop Lucille and Bear from traveling 11,720 miles cross country in the winter of 2014-2015. Their stops included visiting the McKinney family in Texas and finding themselves at the Duck Commander operation in Monroe, Louisiana. Her fondest memory was when she crossed off a helicopter ride in Branson, Missouri off her bucket list.
The winter of 2015-2016 saw the McKinney’s travel 9,000 miles through Arizona; visiting old Jackson Hole friends and classmates, and California to see Stilson relatives and Dan and Lisa coach at San Francisco State University.
She was preceded in death by her parents Keith (1997) and Marie (2005) Stilson. She is survived by her husband, Bear, son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lisa McKinney. Mourning her loss are numerous relatives from the Stilson, Hardeman, and McKinney families and a multitude of friends.
Lucille’s grandfather, William Lacy Stilson came to the valley in 1896, along with his sister Bessie and mother Lauretta, after the death of his father, William. Gerrit Hardeman, Lucille’s grandfather, emigrated from the Netherlands in 1910 and arrived in Jackson in 1912.
When she was one, Keith, Marie, and Lucille moved to Camp Davis down the Hoback Junction. For entertainment, Keith built Lucille a box sled for the winter and while sledding one day, she gained too much speed, running over Keith’s snow shoes, knocking him down and headed straight for the river. Luckily, Keith reacted quick enough to save Lucille from going in.
As a young child, Lucille was exposed to the Stilson Family hunting and outfitting business at a very early age as she went on her first pack trip when she was just three years old. She rode a horse that she called Mr. Johnson and claimed that he bucked her off. However, Keith claimed she fell off. The truth remains a mystery.
During the winter and spring seasons, Keith worked on local ranches including the Red Rock Ranch, Snake River Ranch and the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch. For several winters, the family went out of the valley to find work, spending some time in San Pablo, California and Naples, Florida. These winters found Lucille enrolled in new schools and making new friends.
At 13 years old, the Stilson’s moved to the Bar Double R Dude Ranch. Lucille’s first and favorite job was to wrangle horses for her father on the ranch. Her other jobs included cooking, cleaning rooms, and using a gasoline powered washing machine due to a lack of electricity.
Later that summer, her Uncle Earl Hardeman, hired Lucille to cook for the hay crew. He took her to town to buy the groceries and supplies. After the purchase, Lucille was nervous she had overspent. She told Earl that she had spent $80.00. His response was “Hell, I should let you buy my groceries all the time!” Thrilled by his response, she began preparing her first dinner. While Uncle Earl only asked her to prepare the meat, Lucille surprised everyone with a fully cooked meal that included fresh baked bread.
In the fall of ‘59, Keith felt Lucille was too young to ride one of their horses, Noble Sam. When she was close to 14 years old, Keith told her one night to go get on Noble Sam. Anxious and excited, she climbed on him and wrangled the rest of the horses with ease. This proved to Keith that Lucille was ready for a bigger challenge; the winter drive to Lozier’s Ranch in Dubois. Lucille and her Uncle Glen Stilson started the drive at the Bar Double R Ranch, making the trek through the Gros Ventre, along the Green River, past Triangle C to the Lozier Ranch where the Stilson horses wintered. From ’59-’64, Lucille worked at the Bar Double R Ranch in the summers and at the Stilson hunting camp during the fall and winter months.
After graduating from Jackson-Wilson high school in 1965, Lucille attended the Excelsis Beauty College in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Upon graduation a year later, she began working for Clara Bush at the Gai Mode. She continued to work for Clara for eight years and always took special care of her clients, whom she called “my ladies.” In 1972 she returned to work for Keith and Marie. She was back to her first love: wrangling horses, cooking for hunters, and spending time with her folks. She also ran horse stables for Keith and Marie at Teton Village in the summer months.
In 1976 Lucille began working for Wade Clifford and Dorothy Barker at Doorway to Beauty. While working at the beauty salon she also worked for the hunting camp on the banks of Crystal and Jag Creek.
Perhaps because Lucille had always been around new people, she could always strike up a conversation and make a new friend. She never met a stranger and her ability to recall people and their relations was truly amazing. Hands down, she was known as the “Family Historian.”
Lucille met her husband, Daniel “Bear” Dale McKinney, in the summer of 1979. Bear arrived in Jackson Hole on August 23rd, 1978, from Las Cruces NM, and began working for outfitter Paul Gilroy. After returning the next summer, Bear met Keith as Paul had hired the two to help with the pack trips at the Teton Valley Ranch. Through this relationship, Bear met Lucille and they began dating.
During the winter, Bear returned to work in a feed lot south of El Paso, Texas as Lucille stayed in Jackson and continued their long distance relationship. Bear returned in the summer of ’80, continuing to work for Paul. That fall, Bear proposed to Lucille in the kitchen of the Stilson house and they were wed on November 7th, 1980 at Keith and Marie’s.
Lucille’s maid of honor was high school classmate Carla Johnson and Bear’s best man was his grandfather, George McKinney.
Bear and Lucille returned to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first winter of their marriage. Bear worked for a farm auction company, while Lucille became acquainted with the McKinney Family. She would often make Bear custom made shirts to fit her husband perfectly. The McKinney’s returned to Jackson in the spring of ’81, while Lucille returned to Doorway to Beauty. In 1982, Lucille bought Wade out of the business and became partners with Dorothy.
Bear drove school buses during the school year and was a fishing guide during the summers. Lucille continued at the beauty shop until the birth of their only child, Daniel Keith McKinney, on October 26th, 1986. They kept their jobs throughout Dan’s childhood.
On their way home from a two week motorhome trip with Dan in the summer of 1993, Keith and Marie stopped to visit Marie’s brother Howard and wife Betty Hardeman in Victor, MT. The Stilson’s fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and after calling Jackson home for their entire lives, Keith and Marie left for Big Sky Country the following year.
In ‘95, the McKinney’s soon followed and made the move to Hamilton, MT so Dan could be close to his grandparents. As they departed north, Lucille said, “I will always be a Jackson Hole girl at heart.”
The Stilson’s owned and operated Riverside RV park in Hamilton, as Bear worked at the park while Lucille owned Whistle Stop Daycare. She enjoyed the kids but often stated, “I’m glad I only have one.”
Keith, with the help of Lucille, began raising mules on the ranch. Ranch life was quite an education for all, especially Dan. This is where he learned the art of “Ranch Lingo” from his grandpa Keith. Let’s just say, not much of it was appropriate for school.
After the passing of Keith in ‘97, Lucille returned to cutting hair in a nursing home and knitting. Her favorite things to make were socks and would often give those out as Christmas gifts. Bear substitute taught and Dan became heavily involved in sports. Marie, Bear, and Lucille followed Dan all over the Great Northwest to watch his baseball games. Some of Lucille’s favorite memories were on the road with the “baseball boys”.
Upon Dan’s graduation in 2005 and the passing of Marie shortly thereafter, Bear and Lucille retired and moved to Bozeman, MT so Bear could attend college at Montana State University.
At the time, Dan was attending MSU. Lucille had designed and built her dream home in a subdivision in Belgrade, MT. She loved designing, planning, and organizing houses as this was the 2nd one they built. While living there, the property became infested with chiselers. Lucille took it upon herself to control the population as she was known to the neighbors as “Annie Oakley”. Her retirement was short lived, just as the chiselers lives were.
The last 10 years, Bear and Lucille spent a majority of their time visiting family and friends around the country and always took the time to catch “their kids” baseball or softball games. She relished the opportunity to catch up with old classmates, family, friends and acquaintances. She was a wonderful cook and if you ever had one of Lucille’s meals or tried her fabled recipes, it didn’t disappoint.
One of Lucille’s last wishes was to see Dan, and girlfriend Lisa, married. Upon the arrival of the couple on vacation in Bozeman, the “kids” wed on June 9th, 2016 with 5 days of planning. When asked when they were engaged and how did he propose, Dan simply said, “Lucille proposed and we all said yes.” She was thrilled to welcome Lisa to the family.
When she was 21 years old, Lucille received radiation treatments due to her battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the fall of 2013, Lucille was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and went in for surgery to replace her aortic valve. The surgery was deemed successful; however, the radiation caused pulmonary fibrosis in her lungs.
This didn’t stop Lucille and Bear from traveling 11,720 miles cross country in the winter of 2014-2015. Their stops included visiting the McKinney family in Texas and finding themselves at the Duck Commander operation in Monroe, Louisiana. Her fondest memory was when she crossed off a helicopter ride in Branson, Missouri off her bucket list.
The winter of 2015-2016 saw the McKinney’s travel 9,000 miles through Arizona; visiting old Jackson Hole friends and classmates, and California to see Stilson relatives and Dan and Lisa coach at San Francisco State University.
She was preceded in death by her parents Keith (1997) and Marie (2005) Stilson. She is survived by her husband, Bear, son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lisa McKinney. Mourning her loss are numerous relatives from the Stilson, Hardeman, and McKinney families and a multitude of friends.
Lucille Marie Stilson McKinney was born on November 18th, 1946 to William Keith and Eliza Marie Hardeman Stilson in Jackson, Wyoming.
Lucille’s grandfather, William Lacy Stilson came to the valley in 1896, along with his sister Bessie and mother Lauretta, after the death of his father, William. Gerrit Hardeman, Lucille’s grandfather, emigrated from the Netherlands in 1910 and arrived in Jackson in 1912.
When she was one, Keith, Marie, and Lucille moved to Camp Davis down the Hoback Junction. For entertainment, Keith built Lucille a box sled for the winter and while sledding one day, she gained too much speed, running over Keith’s snow shoes, knocking him down and headed straight for the river. Luckily, Keith reacted quick enough to save Lucille from going in.
As a young child, Lucille was exposed to the Stilson Family hunting and outfitting business at a very early age as she went on her first pack trip when she was just three years old. She rode a horse that she called Mr. Johnson and claimed that he bucked her off. However, Keith claimed she fell off. The truth remains a mystery.
During the winter and spring seasons, Keith worked on local ranches including the Red Rock Ranch, Snake River Ranch and the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch. For several winters, the family went out of the valley to find work, spending some time in San Pablo, California and Naples, Florida. These winters found Lucille enrolled in new schools and making new friends.
At 13 years old, the Stilson’s moved to the Bar Double R Dude Ranch. Lucille’s first and favorite job was to wrangle horses for her father on the ranch. Her other jobs included cooking, cleaning rooms, and using a gasoline powered washing machine due to a lack of electricity.
Later that summer, her Uncle Earl Hardeman, hired Lucille to cook for the hay crew. He took her to town to buy the groceries and supplies. After the purchase, Lucille was nervous she had overspent. She told Earl that she had spent $80.00. His response was “Hell, I should let you buy my groceries all the time!” Thrilled by his response, she began preparing her first dinner. While Uncle Earl only asked her to prepare the meat, Lucille surprised everyone with a fully cooked meal that included fresh baked bread.
In the fall of ‘59, Keith felt Lucille was too young to ride one of their horses, Noble Sam. When she was close to 14 years old, Keith told her one night to go get on Noble Sam. Anxious and excited, she climbed on him and wrangled the rest of the horses with ease. This proved to Keith that Lucille was ready for a bigger challenge; the winter drive to Lozier’s Ranch in Dubois. Lucille and her Uncle Glen Stilson started the drive at the Bar Double R Ranch, making the trek through the Gros Ventre, along the Green River, past Triangle C to the Lozier Ranch where the Stilson horses wintered. From ’59-’64, Lucille worked at the Bar Double R Ranch in the summers and at the Stilson hunting camp during the fall and winter months.
After graduating from Jackson-Wilson high school in 1965, Lucille attended the Excelsis Beauty College in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Upon graduation a year later, she began working for Clara Bush at the Gai Mode. She continued to work for Clara for eight years and always took special care of her clients, whom she called “my ladies.” In 1972 she returned to work for Keith and Marie. She was back to her first love: wrangling horses, cooking for hunters, and spending time with her folks. She also ran horse stables for Keith and Marie at Teton Village in the summer months.
In 1976 Lucille began working for Wade Clifford and Dorothy Barker at Doorway to Beauty. While working at the beauty salon she also worked for the hunting camp on the banks of Crystal and Jag Creek.
Perhaps because Lucille had always been around new people, she could always strike up a conversation and make a new friend. She never met a stranger and her ability to recall people and their relations was truly amazing. Hands down, she was known as the “Family Historian.”
Lucille met her husband, Daniel “Bear” Dale McKinney, in the summer of 1979. Bear arrived in Jackson Hole on August 23rd, 1978, from Las Cruces NM, and began working for outfitter Paul Gilroy. After returning the next summer, Bear met Keith as Paul had hired the two to help with the pack trips at the Teton Valley Ranch. Through this relationship, Bear met Lucille and they began dating.
During the winter, Bear returned to work in a feed lot south of El Paso, Texas as Lucille stayed in Jackson and continued their long distance relationship. Bear returned in the summer of ’80, continuing to work for Paul. That fall, Bear proposed to Lucille in the kitchen of the Stilson house and they were wed on November 7th, 1980 at Keith and Marie’s.
Lucille’s maid of honor was high school classmate Carla Johnson and Bear’s best man was his grandfather, George McKinney.
Bear and Lucille returned to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first winter of their marriage. Bear worked for a farm auction company, while Lucille became acquainted with the McKinney Family. She would often make Bear custom made shirts to fit her husband perfectly. The McKinney’s returned to Jackson in the spring of ’81, while Lucille returned to Doorway to Beauty. In 1982, Lucille bought Wade out of the business and became partners with Dorothy.
Bear drove school buses during the school year and was a fishing guide during the summers. Lucille continued at the beauty shop until the birth of their only child, Daniel Keith McKinney, on October 26th, 1986. They kept their jobs throughout Dan’s childhood.
On their way home from a two week motorhome trip with Dan in the summer of 1993, Keith and Marie stopped to visit Marie’s brother Howard and wife Betty Hardeman in Victor, MT. The Stilson’s fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and after calling Jackson home for their entire lives, Keith and Marie left for Big Sky Country the following year.
In ‘95, the McKinney’s soon followed and made the move to Hamilton, MT so Dan could be close to his grandparents. As they departed north, Lucille said, “I will always be a Jackson Hole girl at heart.”
The Stilson’s owned and operated Riverside RV park in Hamilton, as Bear worked at the park while Lucille owned Whistle Stop Daycare. She enjoyed the kids but often stated, “I’m glad I only have one.”
Keith, with the help of Lucille, began raising mules on the ranch. Ranch life was quite an education for all, especially Dan. This is where he learned the art of “Ranch Lingo” from his grandpa Keith. Let’s just say, not much of it was appropriate for school.
After the passing of Keith in ‘97, Lucille returned to cutting hair in a nursing home and knitting. Her favorite things to make were socks and would often give those out as Christmas gifts. Bear substitute taught and Dan became heavily involved in sports. Marie, Bear, and Lucille followed Dan all over the Great Northwest to watch his baseball games. Some of Lucille’s favorite memories were on the road with the “baseball boys”.
Upon Dan’s graduation in 2005 and the passing of Marie shortly thereafter, Bear and Lucille retired and moved to Bozeman, MT so Bear could attend college at Montana State University.
At the time, Dan was attending MSU. Lucille had designed and built her dream home in a subdivision in Belgrade, MT. She loved designing, planning, and organizing houses as this was the 2nd one they built. While living there, the property became infested with chiselers. Lucille took it upon herself to control the population as she was known to the neighbors as “Annie Oakley”. Her retirement was short lived, just as the chiselers lives were.
The last 10 years, Bear and Lucille spent a majority of their time visiting family and friends around the country and always took the time to catch “their kids” baseball or softball games. She relished the opportunity to catch up with old classmates, family, friends and acquaintances. She was a wonderful cook and if you ever had one of Lucille’s meals or tried her fabled recipes, it didn’t disappoint.
One of Lucille’s last wishes was to see Dan, and girlfriend Lisa, married. Upon the arrival of the couple on vacation in Bozeman, the “kids” wed on June 9th, 2016 with 5 days of planning. When asked when they were engaged and how did he propose, Dan simply said, “Lucille proposed and we all said yes.” She was thrilled to welcome Lisa to the family.
When she was 21 years old, Lucille received radiation treatments due to her battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the fall of 2013, Lucille was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and went in for surgery to replace her aortic valve. The surgery was deemed successful; however, the radiation caused pulmonary fibrosis in her lungs.
This didn’t stop Lucille and Bear from traveling 11,720 miles cross country in the winter of 2014-2015. Their stops included visiting the McKinney family in Texas and finding themselves at the Duck Commander operation in Monroe, Louisiana. Her fondest memory was when she crossed off a helicopter ride in Branson, Missouri off her bucket list.
The winter of 2015-2016 saw the McKinney’s travel 9,000 miles through Arizona; visiting old Jackson Hole friends and classmates, and California to see Stilson relatives and Dan and Lisa coach at San Francisco State University.
She was preceded in death by her parents Keith (1997) and Marie (2005) Stilson. She is survived by her husband, Bear, son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lisa McKinney. Mourning her loss are numerous relatives from the Stilson, Hardeman, and McKinney families and a multitude of friends.
Lucille’s grandfather, William Lacy Stilson came to the valley in 1896, along with his sister Bessie and mother Lauretta, after the death of his father, William. Gerrit Hardeman, Lucille’s grandfather, emigrated from the Netherlands in 1910 and arrived in Jackson in 1912.
When she was one, Keith, Marie, and Lucille moved to Camp Davis down the Hoback Junction. For entertainment, Keith built Lucille a box sled for the winter and while sledding one day, she gained too much speed, running over Keith’s snow shoes, knocking him down and headed straight for the river. Luckily, Keith reacted quick enough to save Lucille from going in.
As a young child, Lucille was exposed to the Stilson Family hunting and outfitting business at a very early age as she went on her first pack trip when she was just three years old. She rode a horse that she called Mr. Johnson and claimed that he bucked her off. However, Keith claimed she fell off. The truth remains a mystery.
During the winter and spring seasons, Keith worked on local ranches including the Red Rock Ranch, Snake River Ranch and the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch. For several winters, the family went out of the valley to find work, spending some time in San Pablo, California and Naples, Florida. These winters found Lucille enrolled in new schools and making new friends.
At 13 years old, the Stilson’s moved to the Bar Double R Dude Ranch. Lucille’s first and favorite job was to wrangle horses for her father on the ranch. Her other jobs included cooking, cleaning rooms, and using a gasoline powered washing machine due to a lack of electricity.
Later that summer, her Uncle Earl Hardeman, hired Lucille to cook for the hay crew. He took her to town to buy the groceries and supplies. After the purchase, Lucille was nervous she had overspent. She told Earl that she had spent $80.00. His response was “Hell, I should let you buy my groceries all the time!” Thrilled by his response, she began preparing her first dinner. While Uncle Earl only asked her to prepare the meat, Lucille surprised everyone with a fully cooked meal that included fresh baked bread.
In the fall of ‘59, Keith felt Lucille was too young to ride one of their horses, Noble Sam. When she was close to 14 years old, Keith told her one night to go get on Noble Sam. Anxious and excited, she climbed on him and wrangled the rest of the horses with ease. This proved to Keith that Lucille was ready for a bigger challenge; the winter drive to Lozier’s Ranch in Dubois. Lucille and her Uncle Glen Stilson started the drive at the Bar Double R Ranch, making the trek through the Gros Ventre, along the Green River, past Triangle C to the Lozier Ranch where the Stilson horses wintered. From ’59-’64, Lucille worked at the Bar Double R Ranch in the summers and at the Stilson hunting camp during the fall and winter months.
After graduating from Jackson-Wilson high school in 1965, Lucille attended the Excelsis Beauty College in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Upon graduation a year later, she began working for Clara Bush at the Gai Mode. She continued to work for Clara for eight years and always took special care of her clients, whom she called “my ladies.” In 1972 she returned to work for Keith and Marie. She was back to her first love: wrangling horses, cooking for hunters, and spending time with her folks. She also ran horse stables for Keith and Marie at Teton Village in the summer months.
In 1976 Lucille began working for Wade Clifford and Dorothy Barker at Doorway to Beauty. While working at the beauty salon she also worked for the hunting camp on the banks of Crystal and Jag Creek.
Perhaps because Lucille had always been around new people, she could always strike up a conversation and make a new friend. She never met a stranger and her ability to recall people and their relations was truly amazing. Hands down, she was known as the “Family Historian.”
Lucille met her husband, Daniel “Bear” Dale McKinney, in the summer of 1979. Bear arrived in Jackson Hole on August 23rd, 1978, from Las Cruces NM, and began working for outfitter Paul Gilroy. After returning the next summer, Bear met Keith as Paul had hired the two to help with the pack trips at the Teton Valley Ranch. Through this relationship, Bear met Lucille and they began dating.
During the winter, Bear returned to work in a feed lot south of El Paso, Texas as Lucille stayed in Jackson and continued their long distance relationship. Bear returned in the summer of ’80, continuing to work for Paul. That fall, Bear proposed to Lucille in the kitchen of the Stilson house and they were wed on November 7th, 1980 at Keith and Marie’s.
Lucille’s maid of honor was high school classmate Carla Johnson and Bear’s best man was his grandfather, George McKinney.
Bear and Lucille returned to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first winter of their marriage. Bear worked for a farm auction company, while Lucille became acquainted with the McKinney Family. She would often make Bear custom made shirts to fit her husband perfectly. The McKinney’s returned to Jackson in the spring of ’81, while Lucille returned to Doorway to Beauty. In 1982, Lucille bought Wade out of the business and became partners with Dorothy.
Bear drove school buses during the school year and was a fishing guide during the summers. Lucille continued at the beauty shop until the birth of their only child, Daniel Keith McKinney, on October 26th, 1986. They kept their jobs throughout Dan’s childhood.
On their way home from a two week motorhome trip with Dan in the summer of 1993, Keith and Marie stopped to visit Marie’s brother Howard and wife Betty Hardeman in Victor, MT. The Stilson’s fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and after calling Jackson home for their entire lives, Keith and Marie left for Big Sky Country the following year.
In ‘95, the McKinney’s soon followed and made the move to Hamilton, MT so Dan could be close to his grandparents. As they departed north, Lucille said, “I will always be a Jackson Hole girl at heart.”
The Stilson’s owned and operated Riverside RV park in Hamilton, as Bear worked at the park while Lucille owned Whistle Stop Daycare. She enjoyed the kids but often stated, “I’m glad I only have one.”
Keith, with the help of Lucille, began raising mules on the ranch. Ranch life was quite an education for all, especially Dan. This is where he learned the art of “Ranch Lingo” from his grandpa Keith. Let’s just say, not much of it was appropriate for school.
After the passing of Keith in ‘97, Lucille returned to cutting hair in a nursing home and knitting. Her favorite things to make were socks and would often give those out as Christmas gifts. Bear substitute taught and Dan became heavily involved in sports. Marie, Bear, and Lucille followed Dan all over the Great Northwest to watch his baseball games. Some of Lucille’s favorite memories were on the road with the “baseball boys”.
Upon Dan’s graduation in 2005 and the passing of Marie shortly thereafter, Bear and Lucille retired and moved to Bozeman, MT so Bear could attend college at Montana State University.
At the time, Dan was attending MSU. Lucille had designed and built her dream home in a subdivision in Belgrade, MT. She loved designing, planning, and organizing houses as this was the 2nd one they built. While living there, the property became infested with chiselers. Lucille took it upon herself to control the population as she was known to the neighbors as “Annie Oakley”. Her retirement was short lived, just as the chiselers lives were.
The last 10 years, Bear and Lucille spent a majority of their time visiting family and friends around the country and always took the time to catch “their kids” baseball or softball games. She relished the opportunity to catch up with old classmates, family, friends and acquaintances. She was a wonderful cook and if you ever had one of Lucille’s meals or tried her fabled recipes, it didn’t disappoint.
One of Lucille’s last wishes was to see Dan, and girlfriend Lisa, married. Upon the arrival of the couple on vacation in Bozeman, the “kids” wed on June 9th, 2016 with 5 days of planning. When asked when they were engaged and how did he propose, Dan simply said, “Lucille proposed and we all said yes.” She was thrilled to welcome Lisa to the family.
When she was 21 years old, Lucille received radiation treatments due to her battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the fall of 2013, Lucille was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and went in for surgery to replace her aortic valve. The surgery was deemed successful; however, the radiation caused pulmonary fibrosis in her lungs.
This didn’t stop Lucille and Bear from traveling 11,720 miles cross country in the winter of 2014-2015. Their stops included visiting the McKinney family in Texas and finding themselves at the Duck Commander operation in Monroe, Louisiana. Her fondest memory was when she crossed off a helicopter ride in Branson, Missouri off her bucket list.
The winter of 2015-2016 saw the McKinney’s travel 9,000 miles through Arizona; visiting old Jackson Hole friends and classmates, and California to see Stilson relatives and Dan and Lisa coach at San Francisco State University.
She was preceded in death by her parents Keith (1997) and Marie (2005) Stilson. She is survived by her husband, Bear, son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lisa McKinney. Mourning her loss are numerous relatives from the Stilson, Hardeman, and McKinney families and a multitude of friends.
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