Lila Alice Machacek

Lila Alice (Campbell) Machacek was born in Orofino, ID in 1932, to Donald R. and Cora Alice (Knouse) Campbell.  She joined an older sister Margaret Virginia, and was followed by a brother, Donald Eugene Campbell. The Campbell's eventually settled in the Twin Falls, ID area where Lila graduated from high school in 1950.

On a chance meeting in a field of potatoes, Lila was introduced to Victor K. Machacek, the youngest of four brothers of a Czech family who had settled in the area in the early 1900's; they were the owners of farms and sheep ranches. Vic's heart was absolutely smitten!

They were married in 1951, when Lila was 19 and Vic was 30.   In 1952, Gregory was born. Victor was unhappy with farming since it was so hard to know what was going to happen with crop prices. He didn't like the idea of borrowing money from the bank to buy seed and paying them back when the crop came in. It was too risky. In the spring of 1955, Julia was born.  Vic was becoming more concerned about farming. He decided to take his family to North Carolina where he would attend a school for crane and heavy equipment operating. When they moved back to Idaho, they never returned to farming, but spent their married life, moving from one construction job to another and making a good living at it.  They moved to a very isolated little desert town called Bruneau, ID.  It was 1960 and Lianne was born.

Lila was always concerned for her kids and in each community her family became part of she would first seek out a local church that taught the Bible as the word of God. She made sure her children attended Vacation Bible School each summer and a Christian summer camp. This provided for two weeks of reflection on "What a Friend we have in Jesus".  It provided a good influence to her kids.

Vic and Lila spent two years in Hells Canyon on the Snake River. Vic was very concerned that the area was too remote to place the family.  Lila was concerned that there was no church to attend. She began to arrange for a pastor from Boise to come and hold Bible meetings in the local school! She also held children's Bible Club for the neighborhood. She loved living in an area that she used to read about in books and it was one of the finer memories she kept in her heart.

Lila is known by her ability to find the best of any situation in which she was placed. Her cup was always full, her heart grateful and her spirit adventurous. Her family grew up in mobile homes yet no one felt in want.  They didn't have a place that they called home, except the farm in Idaho. When moving to Portland in 1975, they made the first purchase of a home without wheels in Oregon City.  The family started to attend church at Tri-City Baptist Temple in Gladstone.

Lila kept her family together, built a stable home in an ever changing environment. She showed her faith to her children by example. It is by the Grace of God and for His namesake we are all redeemed and grateful for what we have been given.   Looking back, her children all realize that though they had many adventures and enjoyed living in new places it was a lifestyle that pulled many families apart. Yet it caused them to rely on each other all the more and made the family stronger. The only stable thing we always knew would be there was our family members and Lila and Vic Machacek's steadfast faith in Christ. All else was sinking sand.

After Victor passed away in 2009, Lila moved her residence to The Village at Forest Glen. It was in her own apartment that Lila succumbed to pancreatic cancer and heart failure on August 22, 2014. She was 82 years old. Her children and grandchildren were watching over her care, while the room was filled with Sons of the Pioneers, her favorite music, scripture and hymns. Her home was visited in the weeks and days prior by many folks who came to give their blessings. She was greatly loved.  We all look forward to seeing her and Vic again in the future.