Leila Kysia

Leila Kysia, beloved sister and aunt, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, December 31st. Leila was born in Baakline, Lebanon. She immigrated to the United States in 1953 with her brother, Sleiman, to join her father, step-mother, and other sisters and brothers in Royal Oak, Michigan. In the 1960s, she moved to New York City with her sisters Sara and Mona, where she briefly worked for McCann Erickson Advertising Agency. In 1966, she moved back to Lebanon to study nursing, taking a job as a cardiac care nurse at Barbir Hospital in Beirut. In 1980, she returned to the United States to join her sisters, brother, nephew and niece in the family business at the Mediterranean Bakery in Alexandria, Virginia. Leila's sister, Mona, passed in 2010, and her brother Fuad earlier this year. She is survived by her sisters Nadia, Sara, Lisa, and Lydia, her brothers Sleiman and Joseph, and numerous nieces and nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Leila was renowned for her amazing cooking, but even more so for her even more amazing generosity and selflessness. No one loved her family more than Leila. She will be sorely missed. An open gathering in remembrance of Leila will be held on Friday, January 4th from 1:30-2:30pm at Demaine Funeral Home in Springfield, VA.