Lillian Mandello

Lillian was born on April 18, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, to Rose (nee Oliveri) and Frank Libasci. She was the eldest daughter of her siblings: Joseph, Vita, and Kathleen. She met her late husband, Frank, when they were kids, playing stoopball in the neighborhood. They were married on April 26, 1958, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Brooklyn, New York, where they raised their two children, Rosemarie and Chris. In the late 1960s, they moved to Hollywood, Florida, where Lillian worked for MetLife and United Health Care Insurance and also helped run the family business, Fashion Glass & Mirror, alongside Frank. In 2018, to celebrate sixty years of marriage, their children and grandchildren planned a surprise vow renewal for them. It was adorned with pink roses, Lillian’s favorite, and they danced to “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Don Gibson.

Remembered by her loved ones as a natural caregiver, Lillian moved through life with a generous heart. As a confidant to countless family members, friends, and even strangers, she was always ready with a life lesson, a prayer, and a joke. She spent over 40 years supporting fellow members of the Al-Anon community through difficult times. She enjoyed holiday traditions, cooking, and giving back to her community as a senior companion, student mentor, and volunteer at her daughter's school library. She often acknowledged that even though life isn’t always easy, it's always good.

Lillian believed that laughter is the gift you give yourself, and she shared that gift with everyone who loved her. Her family meant the world to her, and she is survived by her two children and their spouses: Rosemarie and Frank; Chris and Judy. Her adoring grandchildren and their partners: Miranda and Joey, Danny and Deserey, Stephanie and Jeff, and Lauren and Gabe. She was known as “GG” to her great-grandchildren: Kiley, Jonah, Aubrey, Jordan, Bria, and Vivian. She will also be missed by her surviving brother-in-law, Thomas Mandello, her nieces, nephews, cousins, and all the family she found along the way.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/).