Obituary of Lila M. Chidichimo

Lila Mae Glass Chidichimo lived a long, blessed life and passed away on November 26, 2016, in Twin Falls, Idaho, from injuries sustained in an accident. She was born February 8, 1927, to Merrill and Catherine Glass in Belvidere, Illinois, where she lived until going off to college at the University of New Mexico in exotic Albuquerque. While taking ballroom dancing at UNM, she met Frank Chidichimo, who was also from Illinois. They married and spent their early life together in the dry desert air of the Land of Enchantment, where their first child, Mark, was born. Eventually they moved back to Belvidere to be near family, and welcomed babies Bill, Mary, Katy and Nancy into the family. A job change took them to Colorado, then another job change took them to Oregon and then Texas, where baby #6, Matt, was born. Ten years in humid Corpus Christi was enough, they said, and in 1978 they moved one last time, to Twin Falls, Idaho. Throughout the years of relocating and resettling, some things remained constant for Lila, chiefly her deep Catholic faith, her unwavering love for her husband and children, and the joy she experienced teaching religious education and art. Lila possessed a sharp wit and love of words and word games, especially crossword puzzles (with a pen, no less!) and Scrabble, along with the ability to make the most groan-worthy puns imaginable. She loved to read, write poetry, sketch on any piece of paper she could find, and she even wrote a few plays, admitting she stole her best lines from "I Love Lucy." Most people don't know that when Lila was a teenager, she took flying lessons and had dreams of ferrying planes for the military to support the war effort. She obtained her pilot's license ("valid until revoked") at the age of 16. She realized she had no sense of direction, however, when she could not tell her instructor which way led back to the airfield. Lila then decided to concentrate on school, obtaining a BA and teaching for a year. She made our house a real home, where all were welcomed with open arms, a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs. Lila was preceded in death by her parents, step-father Stan, in-laws Frank and Nancy Chidichimo, sister Jessie, brothers Billy and Mike, son-in-law Pat, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is survived by Frank, her husband of 65 years, her brother Pat (Kathy) Glass, her children Mark (Julie) Chidichimo, Bill Chidichimo, Mary (Jim) Little, Katy Touchette, Nancy (Chris) Middleton, and Matt (Sherry) Chidichimo, 14 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and 2 yet-to-be-born great-grandchildren. Lila filled her home with angels – statues and pictures – as well as with memorabilia of her favorite movie idol, John Wayne. When she passed away, she was surrounded by her family, an angel statue, and a huge portrait of the Duke. God bless you, Mom, happy trails, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. If you'd like to honor Lila by donating to a cause close to her heart, you can donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and store or to St. Edward's Catholic School here in Twin Falls. A rosary will be held on Wednesday November 30, 2016 at 7:00 pm at Rosenau Funeral Home, 2826 Addison Ave E. Twin Falls. A mass will be held on Thursday December 1, 2016 at 10:30 am at St. Edward's Catholic Church, 161 6th Ave E, Twin Falls. Arrangements are under the direction of Rosenau Funeral Home.