- Lilly Ekseth Dunham Pitha (Red), 80, a resident of Uihlein Mercy Center in Lake Placid passed away Monday, Nov. 20, 2003.
She was born in Bjugn, Norway, Jan. 7, 1923, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1931. She became a naturalized citizen. She was the daughter of Ole Meier Ekseth and Anna Karen Johansen.
She graduated from South Kortright Central School in Stanford, N.Y., in 1942.
She married Horace Kenneth Dunham, plant manager for Bell Telephone in the Plattsburgh and tri-lakes area. They had six children and resided in Oneonta, N.Y., and later in Port Kent, N.Y., where they owned the Historic Landmark house known as the Watson Manor.
Staying at home and raising her six children, she worked over the years at Mitchell?s Ski Shop and Bell Telephone in Plattsburgh. After the loss of her first husband, Ken Dunham, she was married in 1974 to Robert C. Pitha, an engineer working for the state of New York. They lived in New York City for a few years where she worked on Wall Street. When Robert retired, they moved to Havelock, N.C., for a few years. Returning to the Adirondacks and their family, they lived in Upper Jay on the site of the old Land of Make Believe on the AuSable River. Over the following years she worked at Sundog and the Christmas Shop in Lake Placid and Asplin Tree Farm in Gabriel?s.
Lilly, known by most as "Red", with her red hair and fair skin, loved to ski, hike, camp, tend her vegetable and flower gardens, cook and care for her dogs, cats, goats and rabbits. She especially loved to entertain her family and friends with wonderful displays of food that she cooked.
She is survived by her younger sister, Ethel Looye Rao of Bristol, Conn.; her older brother, Oed Ekseth and his wife Marie of Crown Point; her sons, Allen Dunham and his wife Charlene of Saranac Lake, Dennis Dunham of North Carolina, Mark Dunham and his wife Cheryl of Plattsburgh and Scot Dunham and his wife Patty of New Jersey; her daughter, Beverly Detwiler and her husband Steve Detwiler of Lake Placid; her seven grandchildren; Todd Dunham and his wife Sara of Saranac Lake, Kimberly Dunham Brendli and her husband Rich of New Jersey, Kristen Dunham and her husband of Rochester, Kelley Dunham of Plattsburgh, Heather Dunham, Erin Dunham and David Dunham, all of Plattsburgh; and her great-grandchildren, Natasha Brendli and Justin Brendli of New Jersey; her cousins in Norway, Snorre Johansen and his wife Monne, and their children, Bjorg and Arne Vetlesen, Ruth and Hans Hovde and Agnes and Knut Haagensen and their families.
She is predeceased by her first husband, H. Kenneth Dunham; her son, Lynn (Rusty) Dunham; her brother, Gunnar Ekseth; her sister, Connie Ekseth Harvey; and her second husband, Robert Pitha, who passed away in January, 2001. Both Ken and Bob were veterans of World War II.
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