SESSER - Ilah M. Piper, 86, of Bloomington, formerly of Sesser, died Saturday, March 9, 2013, in Heritage Health Care in Bloomington. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 13, in Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser with the Rev. Julie Smith officiating. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Brayfield-Gilbert Funeral Home in Sesser. Memorials may be made to American Heart Association and will be accepted at the funeral home. Ilah was an optometric assistant at the office of Dr. John Slightom in Harrisburg. She grew up in Southern Illinois and lived there her entire life until 2002, when she moved to Bloomington to be closer to her family. Ilah developed a host of friendships in Bloomington, all of which she cherished. She was born July 1, 1926, in Williamson County to Walter Theodore and Martha Emily (Norris) Boswell. She married Donald Lee Piper July 7, 1946, in Sesser. Survivors include her son, Tim (Lee) Piper of Lexington; granddaughter, Lori (Tony) Kaufman of Bloomington; great-grandchildren, Alyssa and Jackson Kaufman; and sister, Donna (Joseph) LeVault of Thomasville, Penn. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and brother, Norris Boswell. For more information, visit gilbertfuneralhomes.com. Published in The Southern Illinoisan on March 11, 2013