OBITUARY FROM NW INDIANA TIMES, NOVEMBER 7, 2021:
Elsie Dale Tilford, age 83, of Valparaiso, passed away Saturday, October 2, 2021. She was born October 1, 1938 in Gary, IN to the late Alex and Mary Grace (Fleming) Shipley. Elsie grew up in Hobart and graduated from Hobart High School then attended Indiana University in Gary. She married John L. Tilford in 1958 before moving to Valparaiso and becoming involved at Calvary Baptist Church as a Sunday school teacher, youth leader, and church secretary. She spent most of her career as the bookkeeper and co-owner of John Tilford Custom Homes together with her husband, building and developing hundreds of homes throughout NWI. Elsie had the gift of creativity and enjoyed expressing that gift through painting. She was also an avid reader and a fantastic cook, though she might not admit it. Elsie loved to travel, and especially relished her trips to Scotland. Elsie and her husband John were members of Liberty Bible Church of Chesterton.
She will forever be remembered by her family as a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who will be dearly missed. Elsie leaves behind her son, John M. Tilford and his wife, Cynthia (Fast); daughter, Leah K. Harrison and her husband, Chris; grandson, Bryan M. Tilford and his wife, Jessa (Trapp); granddaughter, Hannah A. Westwood and her husband, Shane; and great-grandchildren: Levi Lewis Westwood, Lyla Alene Westwood, and a great-grandson due soon to Bryan and Jessa. She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, John Lewis Tilford.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Liberty Bible Church, 824 N. Calumet Ave., Chesterton with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m. A private burial will be held at Angelcrest Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to Liberty Bible Church or Porter County Humane Society.
This information was obtained from: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nwitimes/name/elsie-tilford-obituary?id=31362244. The picture was obtained from the 1956 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1956Images/.