Lilliam C. De Paula Arias

Funeral Services and Burial for Lilliam Catalina De Paula Arias, 85, of Palatine, will be privately held.

Lilliam was born in Havana, Cuba on November 25, 1938, to Jose and Justa Soler. She passed away on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

Lilliam’s childhood was a happy one, where her love of animals (cats, dogs, pet chicken, and monkeys) and her passion for horses began. As a teenager, she started attending horseback riding school after classes at St. George Academy in Havana. Within a few years, she was entering jumping competitions, riding side-saddle, and earning trophies. After graduating college, she married an engineer from Pinar del Rio, gave birth to her daughter, Maria Lilliam and, when she was nine months old, the family fled communist Cuba by immigrating to the United States. Her second daughter, Elizabeth, was born a year later. Lilliam and her family lived in several places, including a brief period in Puerto Rico and two years in Madrid, Spain, but the longtime family home was in Parsippany, New Jersey, close to the home of her sister Yolanda and her family. While Lilliam was happy being a stay at home mother and homemaker for many years, she eventually worked as a telephone switchboard operator at an AT&T location followed by a similar job at a State Farm Insurance Company auto claims center, from where she retired. After retiring, Lilliam and her daughter, Maria, relocated to Palatine, Illinois, following her daughter Elizabeth who had moved to Illinois when her financial services company, Beneficial, was acquired by Household International. From an early age, Lilliam also developed an interest in cooking, becoming an incredible cook and baker, and preparing fabulous meals for family and friends during her lifetime. Lilliam also loved spending time with her family and friends, traveling, vacationing with her daughters in beach locations, with the occasional trip to play the penny slot machines at Illinois and Las Vegas casinos.

Lilliam was the loving mother of Elizabeth Ann De Paula Arias and Maria Lilliam De Paula Arias. She is also survived by her older sister, Yolanda Oldweiler; her niece, Helen Nave and husband, Rob; her nephew, John Oldweiler and wife, Stacey; her grandniece, Karla Cen and husband, Hosea; her grandnephew, Steven Nave; her grandniece, Joy Everett and husband, Austin; her grandnephew, Zachary Oldweiler; her great-niece, Eden Everett; and other family and friends.

We will miss you terribly. You were so very loved.