Lillian Treviño was born May 13, 1950 and passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Monday, February 24, 2020. Lillian was born and raised in Edinburg, Texas. She went to elementary school at Sacred Heart Catholic School and continued with her schoolmate friends through high school in Edinburg. Her schoolmate friendships remained strong and important to Lillian into adulthood. She was deeply involved in the Edinburg High School marching majorettes as one of their twirlers.
Due to Hurricane Beulah in 1967, her parents and family were forced to relocate to Washington State. They were visiting her mother’s side of the family in the Yakima Valley when the hurricane destroyed their home in Edinburg. Lillian was an incoming senior when she started at Grandview High School graduating in 1968, but remained a proud Edinburg Bobcat. Upon graduating, she returned to Edinburg to study at the University of Texas – Pan American for one year. She was homesick, her brother was drafted by the US Army and sent to fight in Vietnam. Her parents were happy when she returned to Grandview. She worked at Hanford and the Toppenish Community Center as an office secretary using her shorthand skills.
Lillian was a staunch believer in civil rights and helped bring attention to farm worker rights for fair wages and housing with her involvement in the Yakima Lower Valley Brown Berets and the Cesar Chavez Farm Workers Union. She went on to pursue her education at the University of Washington, Gynecorps Women’s Health Training Program graduating with the class in 1975 as a Physician Assistant (PA). She loved her work and was highly respected the 37 years she worked as a PA for Dr. Tate in Sunnyside, Planned Parenthood, Dr. John Naiden, and the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic. She retired as a PA from Farm Workers in 2013.
Lillian met the love of her life, Carlos Treviño at a community meeting in 1969. As soon as Carlos saw Lillian for the first time, he knew he wanted to get to know her better. Their early dates included dinners and camping trips with family members, hiking and trips to the ocean. Carlos asked for her hand in marriage the traditional way by inviting two friends, Ricardo Garcia, Martín Yanez and his brother Robert Trevino to ask for her hand in marriage. Her parents agreed and they married in December 1974. They went on to have three wonderful children, Soledad, Carlos, Jr. and Jacinto. Their granddaughter, Delilah has brought so much joy to Lillian and Carlos. She loved being a grandmother and was very proud of her children.
One core value Lillian mentioned to numerous family and friends is “I want to be remembered by the way I treated people and the way I made them feel.” Lillian was naturally inclusive and welcomed all of her patients by calling them “mija”, which means my daughter in Spanish. It didn’t matter to her who you were or what you did for a living, she treated everyone equally with compassion and respect. She never rushed through her appointments and took the time to educate her patients on their health.
Lillian was also a big believer in sharing her talents and knowledge. She was an educator as a seasoned and experienced PA. She taught numerous residents on OB/GYN. Even in the various hospital stays she experienced as a patient; she would permit student nurses to observe as education continued to be important to her.
She was a trail blazer in many ways. She was the first bilingual and bi-cultural PA in the Yakima Valley. Lillian believed in empowering women and was fearless in her pursuit of breaking barriers.
The Treviño Family deeply appreciates all of the compassion and care provided to Lillian by the nurses and aides at Memorial Hospital. Most special thanks to Dr. Maria Verduzco, Dr. Zach Valadez and Dr. Katina Rue.
Lillian was dearly loved and will be missed by her family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Alicia Hinojosa, her parent in-laws, Jesus and Matilde Treviño, her grandson, Jericho. She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Carlos and her three children, Soledad, Carlos Jr., Jacinto and granddaughter, Delilah, all of Yakima. She is also survived by her siblings, Noel Hinojosa (Jane), Celine Castillo (Armando), J.J. Hinojosa (Teresa) and Sylvia Flores (Ismael) as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Viewing at Keith and Keith Funeral Home, 902 W. Yakima Avenue, in Yakima is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Rosary recitation is set for 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial is Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Parish, 212 N. 4th Street, Yakima, WA. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared by www.keithandkeith.com
“A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” - Wizard of Oz
