Lilyan M. Garcia Vega

Today we celebrate Lilyan’s (Lily’s) life. She is a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, cousin, grandmother and friend. When we think about how each of us would want to be remembered, we could all agree that the memory of Lily’s life will have a lasting impact on us all.

She’s Heriberto Leon’s daughter with Juana’s, her mother’s, strength and conviction of faith. A woman of beauty and grace. She became the matriarch of the family; the glue that kept everyone connected.

Everyone has a journey throughout life and for her, life was an adventure and a journey.

Lily came to this country at a very young age. She found her true love and married him, Manolo. They have been married for 48 years. They have two beautiful daughters, Lili and Michelle and tow wonderful grandchildren, Casey and Marlow. They were all passengers in her life journey and witnessed her in action. Through hard work, schooling and dreaming Lilyan knew she could achieve more, and she did. She balanced work and family long before it became common to talk about.

Her sense of adventure made the journey exciting. Lily wanted to see and experience the world through her travels and enjoyed every minute of it. Every trip was an adventure and brought her so much joy. She shared pictures and told stories of her adventures, but Lilyan truly lived and absorbed what the world had to offer. Her travels were cut short. There was so more she would have wanted to see and do, but she confided in her daughters that she had no regrets. Her life was a full and joyous one.

She loved music, dancing and nights out with friends. On a weeknight, you could find Lily and Manolo at the dance studio practicing their moves.

Her journey was also one that stayed the course and was rooted in faith; it defined Lily. A strong faith that guided her in overcoming obstacles in life and through difficult times. Lily comes from a line of strong women - don’t let her petite stature fool you.

We celebrate Lily’s journey in life today. The way she lived life will stay with all of us who knew her. The lessons of true love - Lily and Manolo’s marriage is a shining example that true and dedicated love still exists. The lessons of adventure – We will travel and see the world with a bit more gratitude in our hearts. We will all dance and feel a bit more joy when we will think of her. And when we pray or reflect on our faith, we will all draw from her example and feel that much stronger.

Lily’s memory, impact and spirit will live on in all of our hearts – until we meet again.

Love you forever.