Lillian "Lulu / Klem" Dalton

June 30, 1931 – February 27, 2026

Lillian Dalton—known as "Lulu" to her Klemenok family and "Klem" to her friends—was born on June 30, 1931 in Petaluma, CA, the youngest of eleven children to Paul and Melania Pereviarzeva Klemenok, who emigrated in 1912 from modern-day Ukraine. She grew up surrounded by the lively chaos of a big family, and although all her siblings passed before her, their stories and antics stayed with her for life.

Klem met the love of her life, Everett Dalton, in the San Francisco area. From the moment they found each other, they were a pair—he adored her.  They married July 31, 1951 and she was the center of his world until his passing in 1997. Together they raised four children: Gary (Sharon) Dalton, Terry (Zane) Boncz, Vicky Dalton (Kurt Parker), and Tracy (Bob) Cox.

After the death of her mother, the family moved to north Idaho in 1967 and eventually settled in Priest River, where Klem built a life full of hard work, adventure, and a whole lot of heart.

Klem worked many jobs over the years, but cooking was her signature. In the 1980s and 1990s, she became locally famous for her enormous, cloud‑soft cinnamon rolls at the Stoneridge Loft and Stoneridge Golf Course. Earlier, in the 1970s, she worked at the IGA in Priest River. She and Everett also spent years driving long‑haul trucks across the country—first in a candy‑apple‑red Freightliner, then in a gray Western Star. Her favorite run was hauling Washington fruit from the Pateros/Brewster area down to California.

Growing up during the Great Depression shaped her deeply. Klem knew what hunger felt like, and because of that, she made sure no one around her ever felt it. While working in the school cafeteria at Priest River, she would bring food and quietly slip it to kids who came to school without breakfast. At home, she grew huge gardens, canned the harvest, raised livestock, and could drop a deer with a single shot. She and Everett raised their kids to be capable and self‑reliant—needing more than one shot to bring home meat was cause for embarrassment.

Klem also knew how to have fun. Thanks to her older siblings, her early years were full of mischief and adventure. Family lore says she raced her Model A through the streets of San Francisco and even modeled swimwear for Jantzen Beach. She and Everett were perfectly matched in spirit—they loved dancing to classic country music, snowmobiling, camping, hunting, and fishing.

Her home was her pride and joy. She grew gardens where the rhubarb grew taller than her. She cooked meals big enough for an army because she never learned how to cook for fewer than twenty people. Her venison chili fed crowds at the turkey shoots in the 1970s. She kept the house warm with a wood heater and a wood cookstove—so warm that doors were often thrown open even when it was below zero outside.

Klem lived her life with a deep concern for others. She understood hardship and met it with empathy, generosity, and a willingness to help however she could.  She always found the positive in people and situations, and never met a stranger.

In her final years, she lived at River Mountain Village Advanced Care in Newport, where she formed close bonds with many of the caregivers. They treated her with kindness and affection, and her family is deeply grateful for the love they showed her.

Klem leaves behind a legacy of resilience, grit, strength, and heart. She will be missed more than words can say, but her stories, her lessons, and her love will stay with her family always.

Klem is survived by her children, Gary, Terry, Vicky, and Tracy.  Six grandchildren, Jessica Edmondson, Michael (Darla) Dalton, Jacqueline (Joshua) Wike, Geoffrey (Rebecca) Boncz, Shawna (Jason) MacDonald, Tamara (Jacob) Hirst.  Fourteen great-grandchildren, Hunter Edmondson, Reece, Walker, and Dawson Dalton, Aspen and Dominic Wike, Aria Keefe and Amryn Boncz, Landon and Jaren MacDonald, Lillian, Hadlee, Payton, and Harper Hirst.

At her request, no funeral is planned. Instead, the family asks that, in her memory, you share with your family and friends a cinnamon roll, cup of coffee, and your favorite Klem story.

If flowers are your choice to send, please call Floral Traditions (208)-448-2611 or Safeway (509) 447-2506