Lillian Delaine "Berrington Childress" Pelland

LILLIAN  died peacefully in her home, surrounded by family. She is 83 years of age. A resident of Livonia since 1936, Lillian was a devoted mother who never met a stranger.  Her fun loving spirit and devotion to family are her legacy.  She led a full, wonderful life and will be greatly missed. She is the b eloved wife of the late William, and the late Herbert Childress. And d ear mother of James (Judy) Childress, Marjorie (Rick) Shoup, and Mark Childress. Her sweet spirit enriched the lives of her stepchildren:  Donald, Cindy Newcomer, Linda (Robert) Tomanovich, and Rodney. She is the g randmother of 14, and great grandmother of 12. Lillian is survived by one sister, Marjorie (Tom) McTigue, and was preceded in death by siblings Walter Berrington, Audrey Vickers, and her twin, Lenor McKinney. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 16th from 2-4 PM and 5-8 PM. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday morning at 11 AM, at the funeral home, followed by a graveside committal service at Parkview Cemetery in Livonia. CHILDREN’S TRIBUTE TO LILIAN PELLAND Friends and family called her Lilly, Lillian, Aunt Lil,Grandma Lil, Great Grandma and Gramma Wamma.  We knew her as mom, eventhough she always called herself mum-ma. She was born a twin on October 25, 1930, although she was truly, both literally and figuratively, an individual.  Mom and her sister Lenor were a medical oddity so unique that a feature story was written about them in the Detroit Free Press because, even though they were born together, they were conceived separately.  Lil was full term and Lenor was premature. But that’s not what we mean by her being unique.  Oh no, this woman was one of a kind.  To use one of her own terms, she was a character.   Our friends loved her because she put them at ease and made them feel instantly at home.  She wanted to be one of the kids and would joke around and do silly things at our level.  And if you were one of our friends, that was good enough for her. She did this because she believed she had conceived three flawless human beings.  Her love for her kids was unconditional, and she could never accept or even seem to notice a flaw in her three darling children.  Of course we had to admire her for.  She did this because she believed she had conceived three flawless human beings.  Her love for her kids was unconditional, and she could never accept or even seem to notice a flaw in her three darling children.  Of course we had to admire her for that, and sometimes take advantage of this charming, and sometimes overdone trait of hers.  There was no pretense about her; she was disarmingly familiar and down to earth.  She expected everybody would appreciate the same things she did and approached people as if that were the case.  That’s why she was capable of telling an off color joke, and not understanding why some people didn’t laugh.  She could make a friend in line at the grocery store; then finish up her shopping trip by showing the cashier pictures of her grand children.  These traits, plus her generosity to anybody who entered her home, helped attract many friends and admirers from the neighborhood on Glenmore Street in Redford to Lyons Street in Livonia; from the old days to her last days…there was something about Lil that made her special and memorable.  She did not have very broad interests, but she had a broad number of friends from every phase of her life. And did we mention, she had a “Wonderful Life”.  Although just like George Bailey’s brother Harry in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, she almost lost the chance.  When she was a little girl, she and her siblings were in a horrible car accident; mom was the child who was injured the most.  Her carotid artery was severed and it was a miracle she did not bleed to death.  The accident was the underlying cause of hearing loss that she suffered with throughout her adult life.  She and her family were pioneers of sort.  When she was six years old in 1936 when they took up residence in a tent while her father, Walt, built a home in a place then considered a rural and distant suburb of Detroit…we now call it Livonia.  The lot was an acre in size, and to us it was a little slice of heaven.  We had a great childhood, and spent most weekends on that acre with our grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.  That’s where we learned to have fun and, as they would say, “let our hair down”.   They played cards, drank beer, cooked out, had Rose’s apple pie, listened to Tiger games on WJR and sang songs as a group while Aunt Lenor played the Ukulele.  It is the richest and most vivid childhood memory that we have (with McKinney’s cabin in Grayling running a close 2 nd ).  Lil loved it.  This was her kind of fun. And did we mention that she loved to have fun.  She was always the hostess with the mostest; our house was party central…Halloween, New Years, Birthdays or just the fact that it was Saturday night were frequently reasons for parties at Herb & Lil’s.  In between there was always extra food on hand in case somebody stopped by. She was in her early teens when World War Two broke out, and we had a box of  letters in the attic that she wrote to the numerous older guys she knew when they were overseas.  In her late teens she started dating a dashing young trumpet player and army veteran from Farmington named Herb Childress.  We knew him as dad.  They married in the late 1940’s and had the first of us (Jim) on June 9, 1950.  Mom always said it was the day the Korean War broke out, and she was scared to death that dad would be called off to war.  He was not. They moved to Redford Township and settled into family life.  Here she developed the life-long habit of keeping an orderly, clean and neat home.  Herb worked hard and played hard, and Lil played along.  Their little girl (Marge) arrived in 1954, she was nick named Peanut because she was tiny…some still call her that today.   Herb got his clone of a son (Mark), his fellow musician, in 1963. It was a “Wonderful Life”, but not a life without heartache and challenge along the way.  When Jim, then Marge left home to go to college and never moved back to Detroit, mom could not fathom it.  It just wasn’t how she was raised.  She probably never got over that.  But her unconditional love never wavered. Herb died far too young at the age of 52 in 1981; they will now be reunited when she is buried next to him.  She married Bill Pelland a year after dad passed.  They greatly enjoyed their empty nest years together and were always on the go.  They built a cabin in the woods up north with the help of Marge and her husband Rick.  Lil once again got to live in a tent during construction.  It was a fun summer spot for all of us, particularly the Shoup family and Bill’s family.  Living up north also included trips to the U.P. where Bill was raised.  When the snow flew, they became snowbirds and wintered in Florida.  And where ever they were they always enjoyed a trip to a casino.  Best of all during her second marriage, Lil inherited a whole new family and group of friends who also got to see what a wonder she was. She often compared herself to Lucy from TV, and we affectionately did not disagree.  We will always think of her desire to look her best, right down to taking a walk through the woods with her heels on.  In her later years she took on her dad’s charming habit of mispronunciations…for instance, have any of you ever swam in Lake Urine or visited Travelers City?  Mom did.  But don’t be fooled, Lillian was sharp as a tack.  She had an incredible memory and mind for detail right up until her final days.   She also was capable of understanding, tenderness and being supportive in trying times. Bill died six years ago following a stroke.  Mom showed incredible resilience and resourcefulness in the years that followed, but she never really got over the loss of her playmate Bill, a man truly devoted to her happiness.  His voice was the one you heard when you called her answering machine to the end. A year and a half ago mom moved to Grand Rapids to be closer to Marge and her husband Rick and Jim and his wife Judy.  Again she showed a lot of resilience and adjusted to another new normal.  She was surrounded by love from her children, grand children and great grandchildren in this final chapter of her life.  And, as she had a knack for doing, she bonded one last time with a neighbor…Mary.  One last soul mate that got to see that special spark that made Lil unique. When she learned her cancer was terminal just two weeks before her death, we spent a lot of time with her talking about her life.  She was not ready to go, she planned to live until 90 and see the Great grandkids through their school years.  She was disappointed to leave, but would tell you if she here, that it was a “Wonderful Life” just the same. We will miss her, but her crazy stories and giving spirit will live on in each of us as we share our memories of her life.  Rest well dear “mum-ma” knowing you left your mark in the hearts of many, and best of all...you were a good mom.