Ila Marie Fox was born on 30 October 1904 in Callender, Iowa as one of a pair of twin girls, her sister was named Olive.

[3] From her early life, Loetscher had developed in interested in engines and aviation, and she became, at the age of 25, the first licensed native Iowa female pilot.

[3] At the invitation of her friend Amelia Earhart, Loetscher was one of the 99 charter members of the Ninety-Nines, an organization founded in 1929 to promote fellowship and support for female pilots.

[5] Shortly after moving to South Padre Island, Ila Loetscher developed an affection for and interest in sea turtles, which would come to define the latter half of her life.

From 1963 to 1967, she accompanied fellow island residents on trips to Mexico to get eggs for the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle that they would plant and protect on the island, and she received a state license to care for sick and injured sea turtles.