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Remembering
Lillian May Patten
USDA Forest Service, Payette National Forest — Washington
Classification: Seasonal
Rank: Lookout
Date of Death: August 13, 2006
Age: 32
Lillian May Patten, fire lookout on
Williams Peak, Krassel Ranger
District, Payette National Forest,
was killed in a helicopter crash on
Sunday, August 13, 2006, near
Yellow Pine, Idaho. Lilli had
been on Williams Peak each
summer since 2001, and the
2006 fire season was the
most intense in her experience,
with many fires
started by lightning strikes
in the vicinity. The helicopter
was bringing Lilli
down from Williams Peak
for a break. Also killed
in the accident were two
other firefighters and the
pilot.
Lilli very much enjoyed
the solitude and beauty of
Williams Peak. She had mastered
the technique of locating
lightning strikes and wildfires.
Particularly adept at radio communication,
she was often the indispensable
link between fire crews operating
in her sector and their base. In her six summers,
she had become known among Forest Service
personnel as “Lilli of the Mountain.” Many felt they
knew Lilli from her calm and friendly radio voice,
even though they had never met her in person.
Lilli lived in Olympia, Washington. She graduated
in 2002 from Evergreen State College in Olympia,
where she had studied organic farming and art. She
loved nature and was a creative artist in several media.
Lilli was born in Portland, Oregon, and lived with
her mother, Loraine Patten. After her mother’s death
when Lilli was eight, she lived with her aunt
and uncle, Suzanne and David Tufenkian,
and cousins, Jeffrey and Jennifer. As a
fourth grader, she moved to Cyprus
to join another aunt and uncle,
Jere and Ray Ewing, and cousins,
Greg, Tom, and Joyce. A year
later, Lilli moved with them
to Annandale, Virginia.
She joined John Calvin
Presbyterian Church and
took modeling classes,
serving as a model for art
classes off and on for the
rest of her life.
When Lilli was in 10th
grade, the Ewing family
moved to Ghana. On
several visits, Lilli greatly
enjoyed the beauty, music,
art, and people of this West
African nation. She graduated
from the John Woolman School
in Nevada City, California, in
1992. Lilli often spent extended
childhood vacations with another
uncle and aunt, John and Jan Patten, and
cousin, Jason, of Ukiah, California. She also
spent time with her beloved grandmother, Dorothy
Patten, of Ukiah. During her high school years, Lilli
began a relationship with her father, Bill Albrecht.
Our family greatly misses Lilli. She was a beautiful
young woman, extremely creative, and loved all of
nature. She had many friends. Our grief is tempered
by knowing Lilli was where she wanted to be, doing
work of great service for all who treasure and love our
forests, and doing this work effectively and in close
communication with others.