Lilly Waldron

Memorial services for Lilly Alice Waldron, 90, of Temple will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 2718 Skyline Dr. Temple, TX.

She passed away on Friday, September 6, 2019 in Temple, TX.

She was born March 18, 1929 in Dewitt, Michigan to Emil and Elsie Rosenau Buchner.  She was an active member of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Arlen and Alfred Buchner.

She is survived by her husband, Raymond Waldron; two sons, Barak Waldron and wife Rebecca and Tobiah Waldron and wife Amber; many nieces and nephews; as well as many other family and friends.

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Lilly A. Buchner was born on March 18, 1929 in Lansing, Michigan to Elsie and Emil Buchner. She was a golden haired, blue eyed little girl who could speak only German when she started attending school at the age of 5.  However, she learned English very quickly and was soon able to help her parents and her younger brother, Alfred, to learn English.

In 1938, she and her family became interested in the Truth. Also, at that time, another brother was born, named Arlen, but sadly he died three months later.  The preacher at the German American Baptist Church, where they had been attending, announced to the congregation that the Buchner family was doing wrong in reading the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses and therefore God took their newborn child away from them.  That was the last time they attended the Baptist church.

In 1940, Lilly was the first of the family to start door to door witnessing: First with the Testimony Card & then the Phonograph, playing Brother Rutherford's sermons to the people.  She was baptized, July 12, 1942.  On one occasion, Witnesses from all around converged on the Catholic town of St. Johns, Michigan to do street witnessing.  The local Priest formed a Mob and herded the men, women and children together.  They jailed all the brothers, but the State Police spent the night taking Lilly, her brother, the Sisters & their children home.

When Lilly and her brother refused to salute the flag in school, their Patriotic neighbors threatened to take them away from their parents and have them raised in a Patriotic home. Her parents had them stay with a Sister in Lansing and continue their next school year there.  However, the persecution did not end there.

Patriotic neighbors continued to harass her parents because it was during World War II and they were of German descent.  The neighbors refused to help the Buchner’s with their harvest, so the brothers and sisters from the congregation came out in full support, and they were the first to get their crops in.

About this same time one of the neighbors came by at night and shot a hole through their mail box and it hit the house right next to the bedroom window where her parents were asleep. The young man was arrested & eventually, the persecution subsided.

When Lilly graduated at age 16, she immediately began pioneering – mostly alone on bicycle or with the friends when they came out to pick her up.  At age 17 she bought a Model “A” Ford and she and another girl traveled to Florida and continued preaching along the Suwanee River, often times trading literature for food with the householder.

After returning to Lansing, Michigan, it wasn't long until she met Raymond E. Waldron who had just recently become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.  He had planned on becoming a Baptist Minister, but found the truth instead.  He worked at a bank and told her he had Saturdays off and would she, along with others, like to spend the whole day in Service?  To a pioneer, that was a welcome invitation.

They soon became interested in each other and after a long courtship, they were married on March 8, 1952, they both appreciated God's counsel in the scriptures for husband and wife and made every effort to keep Jehovah first in their lives. They both continued to pioneer together and used Ephesians 4:26 as a guide for their marriage. They attended the International Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York City in 1953. In 1955 they toured Europe for 31 days and attended the six large Conventions in England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Holland.  They hoped to one day attend the Bible School of Gilead and go to a foreign country to serve Jehovah. However on September 27, 1957, their first son was born, named Barak and Gilead was no longer an option.

At the large Convention in 1958 in New York the call went out for families to move to “Where there was a Greater Need”.  They felt this was an answer to their prayers.  They sold everything and moved to Lima, Peru, South America, to help out there.   “It was like living in Paradise – near perfect weather – flowers everywhere – mountains – ocean – all the wonders of Jehovah's creations”, Lilly said. They walked everywhere – pushing Barak in a stroller to the Market places, Kingdom Hall and in service every day.  They took a narrow gauge train high up into the Andes Mountains to Huancayo to spend a weekend with the Circuit Overseer and his wife.  When returning to Lima their joy was dampened when Raymond contracted the Amoeba.  He was lovingly cared for by the missionaries, but they soon had to give up and fly back to the States.

After recovering from his illness, they continued to serve where the Need was Greater in Austin, Texas, then Taylor, Texas, where their second son, Tobiah, was born on October 27, 1964. Later, the family went to serve where there was a need in Gaylord, Michigan and Cameron, Texas.

Raymond was often used to speak at assemblies conventions of J.W's. He directed two different Biblical Dramas in 2000 & 2001.  He and Lilly both acted out parts in an earlier Drama in Waco.

Lilly and her husband had the privilege of visiting 42 different countries throughout their life and enjoyed so very much visiting with the friends in those lands.  They climbed Mt. Sinai where Moses received the 10 Commandments, they followed the Israelite journey through the Red Sea & the Wilderness, and they visited Jerusalem – Jesus' tomb – Kingdom Hall in Bethlehem.  They followed the journeys of the Apostle Paul and the ancient sites.  They enjoyed meeting in secret, the friends in China – climbed the Great Wall of China.  They were happy to receive an invitation from the Branch to attend the Convention in St. Petersburg, Russia, where nine of the Governing Body attended.

Lilly often said, “There was never a dull moment. Our life was full and exciting!”  Lilly was a life-long servant of Jehovah.   Even during her illness, she seldom missed a meeting and continued to hold studies in her home.  She was a loving wife, “helpmate” and a devoted mother.  She will be deeply missed by her family and all those who knew and loved her, and especially by her husband who took special care of her, & took over the household duties when she was no longer able to do so. We take comfort in the fact that she is now asleep, and in Jehovah's Safety Deposit Box and He will soon use that key to bring her back in the resurrection to live in His restored Paradise on earth.

~ John 5:28, 29, Isa. 33:24; Rev. 21:3&4