Lillian H. Ramirez

Lillian Marguerite Hollingsworth Ramirez passed from this world on July 25, 2019. Though tested like gold in a furnace in her dying, and now in the company of her loved ones who preceded her, she remained a vital presence in the lives of her living children up until the end. Though she died at ninety-seven, her death nonetheless felt all too sudden.

Her confident, optimistic and energetic nature, clear from an early age, came to serve in a long life filled with challenges and hardship, adventures and even tragedy, as a bedrock for her and those around her. Her unwavering faith gave her the strength to face old age and death with humor and heart.

Lillian was born on July 12, 1922, in Bessemer, Alabama. She was the first child of Grover Cleveland Hollingsworth and Lillian Myrtle Parsons. Lillian married 2nd Lieutenant Oswaldo “Ozzie” Ramirez on March 23, 1943. Following the war, Lillian and her growing family embarked on a life journey that took them from Louisiana to Honduras, Cuba, Peru, Panama, New York and ultimately home to Texas. Lillian was the mother of seven children, the grandmother of twelve; and the great grandmother of twenty-one.

As the matriarch of her extended family, Lillian’s home in Austin became the place for family gatherings. She loved history and spent countless hours practicing her hobby of researching and documenting her family’s genealogy that she shared with family and distant relatives and libraries. She was a devout Catholic and her strong, unshakable faith in God helped her endure the sorrow of the untimely deaths of three of her children. Lillian’s loving nature, strong character and faith in God will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Lillian is survived by her brother Lindy Edison Hollingsworth, her sons Paul Roger Ramirez and James Philip Ramirez, and her daughters Ann Ramirez Moody and Barbara Jane Ramirez. She was preceded in death by her loving husband Oswaldo Villarreal Ramirez, her son John Richard Ramirez Ramington, and her daughters Margaret Alice Anderson and Mary Elizabeth Ling.