She may have been petite in stature but she was a giant in service to her country and to her community.

            Lila Katherine Bittenbender, 100, passed away December 18, 2018.  Born in Red Hill, she was the daughter of the late Alvin and Katie (Buck) Bittenbender.  Lila was a 1936 graduate of Pennsburg High School.  She graduated from the Allentown General Hospital School of Nursing in 1940 and she received her Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.  In addition, she attended the U.S. Army Medical Service School and the Command-General Staff College. 

            In July of 1941, Lila joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, beginning a 36-year career with the Army. She served at several military hospitals on United States soil as well as, overseas during WWII in England, Scotland, and LeMans, France. However, she returned to the United States in 1945 and was honorably discharged as captain in 1946.

             As a member of the U.S. Army Reserve Corps, she was granted a leave of absence in January, 1951 when she was recalled to active duty on a tour that was meant to last into January, 1956. During that time, she served at multiple veterans' hospitals at Fort Eustis, Va., and Camp Pickett, Va., and spent two years at the Rodriguez Army Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico during the Korean War. 

            Upon returning to the United States, Lila maintained her army reserve commission, until retiring as a colonel in 1977.  Throughout her career, she earned multiple medals including: the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Battle Stars, the WWII Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Army Medal with two 10-year pins, and the French Liberty Medal.  Her name is recorded on The Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

            When Lila was not serving in active military duty, she served as a UPV Community Nurse from 1946-1951 and from 1956 -1977.

            Lila was also very involved in the Upper Perkiomen Valley community.  She was a member of New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ; and was a former officer of the American Legion, Post #184, Palm; a member of the VFW, Post #5954, Red Hill; and a past Board member of the Upper Perkiomen Senior Citizen's Center, the UPV Ambulance Assn, Meals-On-Wheels, Community Council, the Open Line, and a past member of the Advisory Committee of Family Services of Montgomery County. She was also the recipient of the Perkiomen Valley Lions Club "Good Deed" award in 1949. Bittenbender sponsored many scholarships for Upper Perkiomen High School graduates and a nursing scholarship is still given out in her name under the "Lila K. Bittenbender Nursing Scholarship Award".

            As recorded by Sadie Butcher in an article in the Town & Country on June 21, 2018 on the occasion of Lila's 100^th birthday: "Through the years, she advocated the needs of special teachers and instructions for mentally and physically challenged children, and a greater need for interest among the people in the problems of the local school boards with the formation of more Parent-Teacher associations.  The needs of the community over the last century were many.  Lila Bittenbender was a community advocate who worked to successfully address many of them." Bittenbender was also a proponent of expanding the Teen-Can-Teen facility to better include the young people of the outer areas of the community.

            Surviving are nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces & nephews.

            A Celebration of Lila's Life will be at 10 a.m. on January 5, 2019 in the sanctuary of New Goshenhoppen Church, 1070 Church Road, East Greenville. She will be laid to rest with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.  The Falk Funeral Homes & Crematory, Pennsburg, is in charge of arrangements.

            In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Open Link, 452 Penn Street, Pennsburg, PA  18073.  To offer on-line remembrances, please visit her "Book of Memories" at falkfuneralhomes.com.