Ariana Delbar

With great sorrow the Delbar and Cavalli families announce the passing of our kind, caring, and unimaginably generous daughter, sister, wife, aunt, and friend, Ariana Delbar.

Ariana was born on November 9, 1980 in Portland, Oregon, but spent her formative years in Cedar Park, Texas. She graduated from Leander High School, where she met her future husband, Vincent Delbar. She went on to receive a B.A. in history from Texas A&M University. She and Vincent married shortly thereafter and settled down in Cedar Park together with their cat collection.

Ariana lived a life defined by service. Her helpful nature drew her to a career as an executive assistant, which she retired from in 2020 to spend more time helping animals in need. Her boundless affection for cats is well-known, and she felt called to help all cats without homes, especially those that others had given up on. She volunteered with the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter for over a decade, fostering hundreds of cats and kittens, training dozens of new cat fosters, and helping organize major fundraising events. In her final years, she started the Critical Kitten Care Fund, with the mission of saving desperately ill kittens that were beyond the resources of typical animal shelters. This organization has already brought more than 80 kittens back from the brink and into the arms of loving families.

Ariana showed her love through her generosity. She enjoyed delighting others with thoughtful (and occasionally extravagant) gifts. She would buy her loved ones a nicer bottle of wine or whisky than they'd ever buy for themselves. She'd locate that rare collectible comic book or gemstone or antique edition of a book that a friend always wanted. She'd turn her nephews loose in toy stores, telling them she'd buy whatever five items they came back with, just to see the unbridled joy on their faces. And, of course, she'd willingly give of her time and effort to help a friend, or helpless animal, in need.

Ariana was a gifted artist, and especially enjoyed creating images of beautiful women in elaborate gowns, and beautiful horses, generally not in elaborate gowns. Her taste for elegance was visible in her perfectly apportioned home, her precisely wrapped and decorated presents, and the way she would show up almost everywhere immaculately dressed and made up. Ariana's artistic abilities extended to the written domain, and she penned several short stories and a couple of unpublished novels (saving cats, understandably, took precedence).

Ariana was also - said with love - a huge nerd. She was drawn to fantasy novels and worlds at an early age, roleplaying characters from The Wheel of Time on online message boards and consuming book after book filled with unicorns, dragons, elves, and magic. When she and Vincent traveled, she always wanted to explore ancient sites in places like Greece and Scotland. She loved Star Trek for its blend of science fiction futurism and deep character and story arcs. And she was always eager to play a complicated board game, solve an escape room, or host a murder mystery party. She loved going out to eat with family and friends, and when the wait staff would ask if anyone was interested in dessert, Ariana would reliably ask to sample most of the menu.

Ariana is survived by her husband Vincent Delbar, her parents Christina and Alexander Cavalli, and her three siblings Gabriella, Julietta, and Alexander, and their families.

Ariana loved cats and animals of all kinds, and would have rescued every stray into a forever home if she could have. If you would like to help continue her legacy, please make a donation to the Critical Kitten Care Fund, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, or your local no-kill animal rescue organization. If you are looking for a way to support her surviving family, the best way to do so is by donating to these causes Ariana held so dear.

https://www.criticalkittencarefund.org/donate

https://forms.wilco.org/Forms/DAIPW

(please note Ariana’s name when making a donation to the shelter)

We will gather to remember Ariana on Sunday, July 9th at 10am at Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills, 9700 Anderson Mill, Austin, Texas.

EUOLOGY

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Hello, I’m Chris Cavalli, Ariana’s mom. Thank you all for being here to celebrate our wonderful Ariana.

Sing this line: “You are the sunshine of my life”

This is what I was singing to myself while Ariana was being born. She was the sunshine of our lives! Holding my little grandson these last few days reminded me of the times when Ariana was this little. Discovering the world and expressing all the joy and sorrow on her face.

She was the oldest of four siblings. She learned how to run the playgroup with great ideas and her goals in mind. She and her sisters and brother were playmates who became good friends, which continued into the present. Ariana was always organized, quick, and imaginative, whether playing she-ra and unicorns in the backyard or directing the group on a musical video for me to shoot.

She met the love of her life, Vincent, in high school. They were a great couple from the start. I want to thank Vincent for his devoted love and care for Ariana, especially during these last weeks. I am so thankful you were there for her. Remember you will always be part of our family.

Ariana was strong and loving, brave and kind, talented and generous….all the positive adjectives. Although she was an introvert and loved time to herself, she was also competent in social situations. She was a good listener, asking questions and finding the interests of whoever she was talking with. She might hear some comment, store it away, and at a later date she would give a special gift to the person that perfectly met their interests.

She was also generous to strangers. She might help out someone in need by purchasing several items from their Amazon wish list anonymously for them.

Her main focus, as you’ve heard, was on helping kitties in need. But she loved helping animals in general. Recently she ordered and donated about 50 dog beds for Furrbaby Pet Pantry for needy dog owners. So dogs were also important to her.

She worked on her Critical Kitten Care and Williamson County shelter projects through her final days. She would be resting and when she woke up and had the energy she would ask for her phone so she could answer texts and emails to help more kitties.

Although these last weeks were hard for us, I am so glad I got to spend hours with her, sometimes talking, sometimes in silence. Sometimes we watched favorite shows of ours. Star Trek was one, of course. But she also loved Ted Lasso and Mrs Maisel and it was great to finish those final seasons with her. We were happy that they had good endings. Good endings…..

On her birth announcement, the words were “Where did you come from, baby dear? Out of the everywhere into here.” We now give her back, much too soon. Out of here into the everywhere.

We miss you every day and we love you, Ariana. Always.