(1-27-26) Ilah Grile was confirmed as the oldest living person in the state of Indiana at her death. She was born on Saturday, February 27, 1915, in Pennville in Jay County.

Ilah F. Ogan Grile

Obituary

Ilah F. Ogan Grile, age 110, of Pennville, IN, passed away at 10:40 AM on Friday, January 23, 2026 at her home with her family by her side. Ilah was confirmed the oldest living person in the state of Indiana. She was born on Saturday, February 27, 1915, in Pennville, IN.  

She married Willard Herbert Grile on Sunday, April 6, 1941 in Jay County, IN. Ilah graduated from Pennville High School, class of 1933.  She was a lifetime resident of Jay Co.

She sold candy door to door as a child, growing up on her parents’ 40-acre farm just outside of Pennville. In her early years she discovered her love of baking. In 1933 she attended the World’s Fair in Chicago by hitching a ride on a flatbed truck of a friend of a friend’s father.

Ilah and her husband, Willard, loved to travel, often camping across the United States. They had been to the Badlands National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Branson, Missouri. Beginning in 1969 she co-owned the I&M Foodliner grocery store in Pennville with her son, Mike, for just around 18 years. Ilah was a member of the Sugar Grove Church of the Nazarene, where she taught Sunday School for over 50 years. 

Ilah will be forever missed by her son, Michael (Gilda) Grile, Pennville, IN, grandchildren. Ryan M. (Cindy) Grile, Ossian, IN, Jeff D. Grile, Pennville, IN, great grandchildren, Michael, Cathryn, & Allison, all of Ossian, IN, and several nieces & nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard Herbert Grile, father, William Albert Ogan, Mother, Alice Arvilla (Stewart) Ogan, siblings, Raymond Ogan, George Ogan, Keith Ogan, Edna Trythall, Mable Austin, Eva Ogan, Atha Ogan, and Ruby Shoemaker.

Family and friends may gather to share and remember at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home located at 109 W. Windsor St. Montpelier, IN. on Sunday, February 1, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM and one hour prior to services on Monday, February 2, 2026.

A service to celebrate Ilah’s life will be at Walker & Glancy Funeral Home at 11:00 AM on Monday, February 2, 2026 with Pastors Dan Sickles and Mike Heckman officiating.  Interment will follow in the Pennville I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Pennville.

Preferred memorials: Sugar Grove Church                

Arrangements are being handled by Walker & Glancy Funeral Home in Montpelier.

Online condolences may be made at www.glancyfuneralhomes.com

February 27, 1915 — here are a few notable things tied to that date:

On February 27, 1915, the President of the United States was Woodrow Wilson.

He was the 28th president, serving from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1921 (two terms). At that time, the U.S. was still neutral in World War I (which had begun in 1914), and Wilson was pursuing a policy of neutrality while dealing with domestic progressive reforms and growing tensions from German submarine warfare.

World events

World War I: Fighting continued on multiple fronts; 1915 was the year the war expanded in scale, with trench warfare entrenched in Europe and major campaigns looming (like Gallipoli later that spring).

Science & culture

The early motion picture era was booming in the U.S.; feature-length films were becoming mainstream (1915 is the year The Birth of a Nation premiered earlier in February).

Notable births

Feb 27, 1915 is the birthdate of Joan Bennett Kennedy

Context

The U.S. was still neutral in WWI. The telephone, automobile, and electricity were spreading rapidly, but radio and commercial aviation were still in their infancy.

The Birth of a Nation premiered earlier in February 1915:

🎬 Premiere date: February 8, 1915 📍 Location: Los Angeles, at Clune’s Auditorium 🎥 Director: D. W. Griffith ⏱️ Length: About 3 hours (unprecedented for its time)

Why it mattered (and why it’s controversial):

It was a technical landmark in filmmaking — pioneering large-scale battle scenes, advanced editing, close-ups, and narrative feature length. At the same time, it glorified the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed Black Americans in racist stereotypes (often played by white actors in blackface). The film sparked nationwide protests, helped revive the KKK, and remains one of the most debated films in U.S. history.

So by February 27, 1915, the movie had already premiered and was beginning to spread nationally — right in the middle of the cultural and political tensions of the WWI era.