On the evening of June 25th, 2022, our beloved mother left us for a more heavenly place. Lillian was born on January 26th, 1929, in Johnson City, New York. She was raised with a sister and numerous cousins while her parents worked at the restaurant they owned. One of Lil’s fondest memories was the many summer days she spent with her cousins playing in the creek that ran downhill from her Aunt Barbara’s house. As a young girl, she also enjoyed participating in 4-H Club.
After her high school graduation in 1946, Lil entered nurses training. She finished her pre-clinical clinical training in 1947 at City Hospital, Johnson City, NY and went on to graduate from Binghamton School of Nursing as a registered nurse in 1949. With her husband, Alexander (Al), she and their four children moved to Boca Raton, FL in 1968 where she continued her career in nursing working at IBM and the Palm Beach County Blood Bank. Lillian also did volunteer school nursing at Boca Raton Community High School in the early 1970’s.
Lillian was an avid reader of all kinds of books but enjoyed mysteries, espionage thrillers and stories which took place during the WWII era. She took immense pleasure in gardening, planting, and cultivating beautiful flowers which included orchids, roses, and amaryllis. She also maintained an herb garden. Her embroidery skills were extraordinary, and she created beautiful baby quilts for all her eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren along with pillowcases, pillows, and wall hangings.
Lil loved traveling and with her husband, Al, visited Russia, France, the Netherlands with a few Caribbean cruises thrown in for good measure. Their best traveling buddies included Lil’s cousin Russ Sanaeko and his wife, Virginia and her sister, Dorothy Joseph and her husband, Tommy.
Lillian and her husband spent many summers renting a cottage on either Heart Lake or Lake Chrisann in Pennsylvania. This provided them great opportunities with so many of their family members, to gather, share stories, play cards, fish, and just appreciate everyone’s company.
In the 1970’s, Lillian loved to make her annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas. With an old friend, she loved playing the penny slots and poker machines. She was a “big spender”! Occasionally she even “tempted” the blackjack table. She looked forward to the weekly bingo games at the local churches. She was a “daubing” queen surrounded by all her good luck trinkets.
Lillian was predeceased in death by her husband, Alexander, her parents Samuel and Anna Zelaska and her sister, Dorothy Joseph. She is survived by her son, Raymond Metrick (Linda), daughters, Lee Willocks (Dave Robinson), Marie McMillian (Joe Roschel) and Sandra Horton.
Lillian deeply cherished her eight grandchildren, Leia Mata, A.J. Willocks, Melissa Metrick, Jessica Horton, Amanda Vance, Sam McGowan, Nathan Horton, and Arthur McMillian and always delighted in seeing her eight great grandchildren whose ages range from 1 to 18, Zachary and Dylan Willocks, Caleb, Sawyer and Mason Vance, Alice and Theo Horton and Skyla Mata.
Lillian was an exceptional woman, a hardworker with a caring nature. She was fun-loving and had a great sense of humor. She was realistic and pragmatic and taught her children to be strong, independent, common-sense thinkers and doers. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
May she sing with the angels and dance with the clouds
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