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Lilly Hovendick passed from this earth on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, at the home of her daughter, Lisa, in Lander, Wyoming, at age 88.

Lillian Adele Arno was born on March 11, 1937, in Havre, Montana, to Alvern and Victoria (Newbauer) Arno. She grew up at Mountain Brook, near Kalispell, Montana, and graduated from Flathead High School in 1954. She graduated from St. Paul Bible School and married Stanley Hovendick in 1957. Together they had three children: Steve, Mary and Lisa. They moved to Nebraska in 1965 and began farming with Stanley’s father, Bill. They spent the next 27 years in the Blair and Herman area, with all three children graduating from Blair High School. She taught school at Rosehill and fourth grade in Blair for many years, never forgetting a student.

In 1992, they bought a ranch outside Lander, Wyoming, where they spent the next 33 years, raising cattle and enjoying grandkids. She had a great love for the communities she lived in and made life-long friendships with neighbors. She never met a person she didn’t love. It was a supernatural love that only comes from her love of Christ, and His love channeled through her. She carried her bible from Bible studies to local prisons, women’s shelters, and taught at the Christian School, leading many students to the Lord.

Lilly loved horses and was an accomplished artist filling sketchbooks with her horses, Beauty, Flicka, Princess Oleta and Smokey, whom she trained. She had a love for Native Americans and loved to give a voice to the voiceless. She loved to sing and played piano, guitar and accordion and sang at many events with her dear friend, Ann Hovanec. She was a wonderful loving mother who adored her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and both siblings, Jim and Ray.

Her husband of 68 years, Stan, survived her by 17 days, passing away on September 4th.

She is survived by son Steve, daughter-in-law Brenda, grandchildren Emily, Billy, Sally (Clay) Espinosa and Molly, and great-grandchildren Kasey and Clancy, daughter, Mary Helland (fiancé David), son-in-law Chris Helland, grandchildren Addy (Michael) Spence, great-granddaughter Charlotte, grandsons Simon, Franklin and Jack Helland, daughter Lisa Hovendick and grandsons Benjamin Stebelton, (Brandy), great-grandson Clyde, and Stewart Stebelton. Other survivors are her brothers and sisters-in-law, David and Carol Hovendick, Don and Donna Marvin, Ed Hansen and nephews Todd and Trent Hansen.

Service and interment was held on August 20th in Lander. A celebration of life for both Lilly and Stanley will be held next spring.

~~~from obituaries courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska~~~

FindaGrave # 286783986