Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 130.

LARK BILYEU

     There are certain men who take possession of the public heart and hold it,
not by self-seeking, but through unfailing good conduct in all situations and
under all the trials of life. Such a man was Lark Bilyeu, whose death occurred
June 24, 1923. He achieved distinction as a lawyer, as well as a statesman, and
was one of the most prominent Masons in Oregon. He possessed the simplicity and
humility  which ever mark real merit and the best estimate of his character and
accomplishments is given in the following memorial prepared by his fraternal
brethren of Eugene Bodies, No. 2, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry, on the 23d of June, 1924:
     "Death is an idealist. He strips men of places of power, position, wealth
and fame. At his touch the drapery of the outward form falls away and for a
moment at least we gaze upon the essential man. The life that has been worth
while is the one that in this transfiguration, when all that is outward and
earthly has been taken away and we gaze upon man as he really is, we know that
we have not been deceived in our estimate of abiding character. Such is our
feeling as we contemplate the life of our friend and brother, Lark Bilyeu.
     "He was born in Miller county, Missouri, in 1851. He was the son of Joseph
Bilyeu, a native of Tennessee, and a descendant of an old southern family of
French-Huguenot extraction. When he was a child his parents moved to Putnam
county, Missouri, and from there came across the plains to Oregon in 1862. They
first settled in Polk county and later in Linn county.
     "He was educated at the Pacific University and in his senior year was
elected to the office of superintendent of schools in Linn county, a position he
held for two years. It was during this time that he studied law under Judge
Strahan, of Albany, and was admitted to the bar in 1877, afterward forming a
partnership with Judge Strahan.
     "On July 3, 1882, Mr. Bilyeu established a law office in Eugene and
maintained that office until his death. In 1884 he was elected to the state
legislature as representative from Lane county and was again elected in 1886 and
1896. He served as chairman of the Lane county democratic central committee and
had been a member of the state committee. He was chairman of the Lane County Bar
Association at the time of his death.
     "Mr. Bilyeu was married in 1878 to Margaret E. Irvine, a native of Linn
county and a daughter of Robert A. Irvine, a pioneer of Oregon. She and their
son, Coke I. Bilyeu, survive.
     "Brother Bilyeu's Masonic history stands out in a very prominent wayand is
of great interest. He was raised in St. John's Lodge, No. 17, A. F. & A. M., of
Albany, Oregon, on April 23, 1878. He affiliated with Eugene Lodge, No. 11, A.
F. & A. M., April 18, 1883, and served that lodge as master during the year
1920. He was a member of Eugene Chapter, No. 10, Royal Arch Masons. He was past
illustrious master of Hiram Council, No. 7, Royal & Select Masters, and was
active in the founding of this council in Eugene. He was a member of Ivanhoe
Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, and served it as eminent commander for two
years.
     "He received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish
Rite for the southern jurisdiction in Portland, Oregon, on January 18, 1907, and
was very active as a charter member of the Eugene bodies of that Rite, being at
the time of his death wise master of Eugene Chapter, No. 2, Knights of Rose
Croix, and venerable master of Kadosh of Eugene Consistory, No. 2, M. R. S. His
great delight was in the conferring of some of the degrees in the Scottish Rite,
which he exemplified with a lasting impression on those who received them. He
was elected to the degree of a knight commander of the Court of Honor of the
Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite in October, 1917, and on December 29, 1921, the
thirty-third degree of inspector general honorary was conferred upon him for his
wise counsel and leadership in the work of Masonry. He was a member of Al Kader
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
     "There are many characteristics that determine a man's standing in any
community. We are not always able to catalogue them and to say in specific terms
just what these qualifications are. It is not difficult, however, to name a few
in the life of our departed brother, for they stand out in bold relief against
the background of his career. He possessed something of that baffling,
indefinable thing that men call human genius, yet there were outstanding virtues
that are clearly defined.
     "The first of these virtues that are necessary in the make-up of what is
sometimes called 'the charm of personality' is the friendliness of the man, for
he was a great friend. No man had more friends, because no man was more
friendly.  Someone has said that 'a friend is the first one who comes in when
all the world  has gone out.' This definition has been dearly tested in the life
of our brother and it only needed to be tried to find that his was a lasting
friendship that was firm in the midst of bitter opposition. That noble passion,
which once illuminated the sea of Gallilee in the person of the world's Greatest
Friend, was possessed by our brother in a large measure.
     ''His firm belief in the immortality of the soul was another foundation
stone upon which was builded the superstructure of his life. No life can be at
its best unless the belief in a life beyond has become a firm conviction in the
philosophy of human existence. No man could sit in his presence and hear him
depict in ritualistic form the great truths of immortality without having the
firm conviction that these philosophies had not only become a part of his life,
but that he had dedicated himself to the happy task of imparting them to others.
     "His was an abiding faith. The faith that abides in that which proves
sufficient in every crisis and is a tower of strength in every storm. When asked
by a friend as to the conviction of his soul in the days just before his
departure, those days when time and eternity are blending and the great
transition is about to take place, he made the characteristic answer, 'My anchor
holds. When any individual on the brink of eternity, viewing in the past a long
life with all of its problems, its defeats and its victories, and contemplating
in the future the vast expanse of eternity, can make such testimony, we may well
pause and consider the strength of such an anchor.
    "Our brother will be missed by his family, by the community at large and by
the host of friends everywhere who mourn his departure. He will also be missed
by his Masonic brethren, who have felt the influence of his presence and have
enjoyed the blessing of his wise counsel. It is a comfort to know that, while
his body rests in that silent city to await the resurrection morning, his
influence still lives and will be permanent among us. He is not dead, else this
life is nothing more than a mocking and abysmal tragedy, and we who battle with
the forces of evil in this world are fighting a losing fight. But, thanks be
unto God, even though life has its battles, it has its victories, and this is
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.'"
     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2011 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.