Dalila Cabán Carrasquillo

Dalila Cabán Carrasquillo passed away peacefully on April 29. 2026, at the age of 95 in Huntsville, Alabama. She was born Dalila Cabán Castro in the small town of Maricao, Puerto Rico. She was the second oldest of six siblings, and the family struggled resolutely through the very, difficult challenges of the Depression era. Her small hometown did not have a high school. Miraculously, after 8th grade, she was invited to live with her parents’ acquaintances in the nearby city of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where she continued her studies and became the first person in her family to graduate from High School. She was determined to further her education and despite financial struggles, she did. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, from the University Of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in 1953. She was the first in her family to achieve a University degree. Her dream of teaching began with her first job, teaching high school science in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico.

While at the University Of Puerto Rico, she met Jose Antonio Carrasquillo, an engineering and ROTC student. Dalila and Jose were married in 1955, and Dalila stopped her teaching career and began her journey as the wife of an Army Officer for the next 20 years. During her husband’s military career, they lived in New York, Germany, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Alabama, raising three children. When her husband served in Vietnam, Dalila took her three children to live in Puerto Rico. Dalila provided exceptional guidance with the difficult changes in residences required by an Army family. In Alabama, she briefly taught high school Spanish at the high school attended by her teenage children. For 11 long years, however, she was a dedicated caregiver for her husband who struggled with a debilitating illness until he passed away in 1996. Although she had an amazing journey in life, her children can attest to the fact that, at least every week, she told a story of her childhood in Puerto Rico and often mentioned her beloved childhood church, Iglesia Presbiteriana El Buen Pastor in Maricao, Puerto Rico. Everyone who has known Dalila well, knows that every day of her life, she missed her home island of Puerto Rico and missed her brothers and sister and was proud of each one of them. In Huntsville, Alabama she found a surrogate family of special friends among the retired military community, and this group included beloved friends from Puerto Rico. Dalila’s family and friends honor her lifestory.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jose Antonio Carrasquillo and her son Edgar Jose Carrasquillo. She is survived by her son, Robert E Carrasquillo (Diane) of Huntsville, Alabama and her daughter, Arlene Carrasquillo of Birmingham, Alabama. She is survived also by her grandchildren, Alan, Mindy, Crystal, Briana, Benjamin and Isabella and great-grandchildren. The family also recognizes the compassionate care and genuine companionship of the last two and a half years provided to Dalila, by Ms. Nanci Rubio and Ms. Barbara Nance who are two extraordinary people.

Descanse en Paz, Dalila

Visitation with hors d'oeuvres will be held at Valhalla Funeral Home (Huntsville), 698 Winchester Road NE, Huntsville, AL 35811, on May 11, 2026, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

A Committal Service will take place at Valhalla Memory Gardens on May 11, 2026 at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to the Bicentennial Chapel on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Dalila loved the Protestant Congregation at this Military Chapel on the Army Base, where she enjoyed the friendship of many military retirees, including her beloved women's group.

Checks for the military chapel can be made to "DACH-CTOF" and mailed to Bicentennial Chapel, 376 Goss Rd., Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898