Lila Rickel

Lila Rickel, age 78, passed away peacefully at CHI Health Bergan Mercy on December 1, 2021. She was born July 3, 1943 to Morris and Lillian (Hammerand) Rickel in Omaha, NE. Lila lived in Omaha the majority of her life. She never married but was involved with, and deeply loved by, her wider family. Her nieces and nephew always loved it when Lila arrived at family events. She paid so much more attention to us than the other adults, and as we all know there is no greater gift another human can give you than their full attention. Lila was a staunch advocate for animals, for children, and many other causes. She was still mourning the sudden death of her beloved Fluffy last spring. Lila's faith was important to her. She was a deacon in the Presbyterian Church and even in these past years kept up with the important issues. Lila was a person of adventure as well. Anyone that knew her knew she LOVED any Nebraska Cornhusker sport, often traveling and even volunteering, for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. We all knew to never get between her and any Nebraska sports event! She was not one prone to want to sit under a tree and read. She liked activity, learning new things, riding her motorcycle, playing games, telling jokes, and on my last visit with her taking long rides in the car where she could visit places she knew and some she had never seen. That is the spirit we will all remember. In these final years Lila found a home at Hansen House, Council Bluffs and her family will be forever grateful for their great care of her. After our long rides she would often say to me with a smile, "time to go home" and I could tell that is just how it felt to her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Morris Rickel, Sr.; Lillian Hammerand, and her beloved brother Morris Rickel, Jr.. Lila is survived by the Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel, Nephew, Seattle Washington, Kay C. Fahad, Niece, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Kara Conrad, Niece, Benton, Arkansas. She is also survived by Linda Rickel, Sister-in-Law, Hot Springs, Arkansas.

A small graveside service will be held in the spring of 2022 at Cass Cemetery, Shelby County, Iowa