Lyla Sanders Kotter

Lyla Sanders Kotter, 86 passed away peacefully at her home in Basalt on March 17 surrounded by her loving family. Lyla was born to Myron Hugh Sanders and Elaine Richards Sanders on March 22, 1934 in Twin Groves, Idaho, in the home of her maternal Grandmother. She was an unexpected surprise as she was born 30 min following her twin brother Lynn. Her father often joked that he had only brought enough money to pay for one baby so he had to take her out on installments or give the doctor a vested interest in her. Lyla and Lynn shared a special bond all throughout their childhood as they moved often and relied on one another as friends. Their family was blessed 6 years after their birth with a little sister, Karon. Lyla learned the value of hard work as she helped in her family’s various business ventures and attended High School in Sugar Salem and graduated from South Fremont High School. In pursuit of higher education and adventure, Lyla attended Ricks College, BYU, Utah State.

She met the love of her life, Verle Kotter when they were both home on Christmas break and their parents were in the same ward in Shelley. Verle and Lyla had their first date on New Year’s Eve, they were engaged on Valentine’s day, and were married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on the 31st of May 1957! This whirlwind romance took place while Lyla attended Utah State and Verle was at BYU. They wrote letters and Verle would hitchhike from Provo to Logan every weekend during their courtship. This May Verle and Lyla would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary!

Verle and Lyla lived in Provo until he graduated from BYU and received a teaching contract in Firth Idaho. They soon made their home in Basalt, and have lived there for the past 61 years. Their happy union has brought 5 children, 19 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren with 2 more on the way. Lyla was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and had a strong testimony of the restoration of the gospel, and a great love for her Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lyla knew the secret to happiness. She valued family, first and foremost, and she was able to find great joy in the simple things of life. She was always optimistic, and could find the silver lining in any situation. She had an open heart, and no one she ever met stayed a stranger for long. She loved to be out in nature, and she took great joy in catching a fish, watching the clouds, and her favorite sports teams. Lyla loved to travel, and could have written a blog about travelling on a budget. She led her family on many great adventures, and she fell in love with Hawaii and Scotland. Lyla had a stroke in her mid-60s that somewhat diminished her capacities and her sweetheart has been her devoted care giver all these years. She was also a courageous cancer survivor.

Lyla is survived by her devoted husband Verle, her 5 children: Alana (Curtis) Stacey, Michael (Gina) Kotter, Verla (Andy) Adams, James (Kirsten) Kotter, Selina Withers and their respective children and grandchildren as well as her sister Karon (Neil) Curtis, and sister-in- law Shirley Sanders.

Lyla was preceded in death by her parents, Myron and Elaine Sanders and her brother, Lynn Sanders.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at the Firth Stake Center (823 North 675 East) in Basalt. The funeral service may be viewed live by going to the following link and clicking Lyla Kotter Funeral Service.
http://mywebcast.churchofjesuschrist.org/Events/firthidahostake

The family will meet with friends Monday evening from 6:00 till 7:30 P.M. at Nalder Funeral Home (110 West Oak) in Shelley and Tuesday morning 9:30 till 10:40 A.M. at the Church. Burial will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.















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