Lucila "Lucy" P. Silva

The sun, as if to mourn the departure of Lucila, hid its Baton Rouge face during her waning days, allowing drops to wet the live oaks and crepe myrtles that cradle her meticulous home. Inside the home, her inner circle of friends held their drops until Lucila was released from three years of pain, when the tears had their way.

“Lucy,” ---Lucila Castro de Paula e Silva withdrew her spirit on January 27, 2024, at age 67 at home. So ended a life that, like many lives when properly examined, was poetic. In her last months, she was showered with love, and with the care she needed and deserved after a life of diligence and duty.

Trained as a chemical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Lucila came to Baton Rouge in 1979, determined to succeed in a demanding field that left no room for error, and that was then dominated by men, from the highest to lowest ranks. She asked no favor or slack, dressed in khaki pants and a tie, and nevertheless had the eye, wanted or not, of all the men— in both work and social settings. Such was her unique beauty, heralded by a face betraying intelligence, sweetness, and joy for life.

Born and raised to the age of 6 in Sāo Paolo, Brazil, Lucila came to Pittsburgh with her physicist father and her college graduate mother. Her youth in Pittsburgh was interrupted by two episodes of living with grandparents back in Sāo Paolo, for two and one years. At age 14, Lucila left for a year in Strasbourg, France under the care of Brazilian family friends, a physicist and his math professor wife, Maria Laura, and their daughter Angela of similar age. Thrust into a school where only French was spoken, Lucila had to and did become quickly and permanently fluent in French. As an adult, she also spoke good Spanish, in addition to her native Portuguese, French, and English with no hint of an accent.

During this year, Lucila absorbed much from Maria Laura’s example of graciousness and refinement in family life, entertaining, and personal relations.

Following the divorce of Lucila’s parents, her mother eventually married the widowed father of Lucila’s best friend , Robin Richman. Lucila and her younger brother Newton, thus gained three new siblings in Robin, Janice, and Howard Richman.

Lucila rose in the chemical industry in operations at several firms before going into environmental engineering consulting. She proved to be a self-starter and a deep student of the needs of each client and project, as well as of the legal and regulatory requirements. This energy and devotion to detail led Lucila to bringing in the projects and clients, which in turn led to Lucila starting her own successful consulting business. Lucila’s next phase was a natural progression to consulting engineer in the growing field of Coastal Restoration. She worked on coastal matters with notables, such as Dr. Robert Twilly, Dr. John Lopez, David Muth, Professor Ehab Meselhe, Garret Graves, and many other talented coastal experts. A crowning moment in Lucila’s coastal restoration phase was to head the team of the lead contractor for the development of the La. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s Coastal Master Plan 2012.

In 2007, Lucila developed non-operable pancreatic cancer. With diligence and great medical care, she became one of a vanishingly small number of people to ever survive pancreatic cancer for over 10 years. Because of her unique recovery, several institutions often referred to Lucila persons struggling with pancreatic cancer, for her to act as a soundboard and source of support. She continued this service even after she developed a different form of cancer in 2019.

The final phase of this brave woman’s engineering career was as a Senior Project Manager for Brown & Root at the Honeywell Chemical Plant in Baton Rouge. There, Lucila conceived, proposed, and project-managed several projects that added modernized “safety instrumented systems” to the plant, which enhanced the safety of workers, the surrounding community, and the products and equipment of Honeywell. Working under team leader Ana Terhoeve, Lucila’s intelligence, eye for detail, earlier experience in operations, as well as organizational, and interpersonal abilities earned her the admiration of the engineers, management, and the construction contractors.

In her personal life, part of Lucila’s strength was her quality friends who now live in many places, who helped her and at times asked her advice and support. This included a number of younger women to whom Lucila was a mentor.

Lucila is survived prominently by her son Richard Leonidas “Lee” Biles IV, of Boutee, La., as well as by her mother Wilma Therezihna Castro Richman of Pittsburgh, Pa.; by her half-brother in Brazil, Arthur Adam Silva; by her nephews Nathan Cieutat Silva of Bakersfield, Ca., Julio Silva and his wife Paula of Jacksonville, Fl.; niece Isabella Silva of Gainesville, Fl.; Sister-in-law Maria Silva of Tampa, Fl.; step-sisters and brothers Robin Richman of Sacramento, CA.; Janice Richman of Montreal, Canada; Howard Richman and wife Susan of Kittanning, Pa.; as well an illustrious array of talented children of the Richman siblings.

Lucila was predeceased by her father, the physicist Paulo Roberto de Paula e Silva, born in Franca, Brazil.; and by her brother Newton Silva, of Tampa Fl.

In her last six years, Lucila’s partner and caregiver Walter Landry Smith had the honor of having Lucila on his arm, in his arms on the dance floor, and welcomed graciously into his family. There, Lucila made her mark on Walter’s three granddaughters, who adored Lucila as another grandmother.

Special thanks to retired Dr. Sterling Sightler, to Jessica Caballero, and to Ana Terhoeve for years of guidance, advice, support, wisdom, and ultimately physical care in a difficult journey. Leslie Tabony, and Susan Herrod are also thanked for showing their nurturing friendship. Lucila welcomes anyone to join in her supporting the mission of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, a stellar example of science, organization, and compassion.