Rebecca P. Lilly, a longtime resident of Woburn passed away peacefully following a short illness April 6, 2018, at home with her loving family by her side. She was 86 years of age. Rebecca was the beloved wife of the late Robert M. Lilly. Born in Somerville she was one of four children of the late Pandi G. and Efrosina (Mantis) Demetri.
Rebecca was raised and educated in Somerville and worked for many years as a customer service representative with the New England Telephone Company. She was a lifelong avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and traveled extensively up and down the East Coast as a young girl with her family following the Red Sox throughout their seasons and getting opportunities to gather autographs and meet some of the team’s greatest players. Her love of traveling remained with her throughout her life and she was fortunate enough to have traveled around the world with her late husband. Together they enjoyed nearly sixty cruises and many many vacations that took them almost to every continent. Together they also enjoyed ball room dancing. When her children were young she was very active with the Girl Scouts. She had a keen interest in Arts and Crafts and was always extremely proud of her Albanian Heritage. Rebecca greatest joy in life was her family. Nothing made her happier than doting over her grandchildren, great grandchildren and being surrounded by those she loved.
Rebecca is survived by her devoted children, Charlene Antonakos and her husband George of Windham, NH, Frank J. Lilly and his wife Marie of St. Cloud, FL, and Roseann Lilly Sauer and her husband David Sauer of Winchester. She was the loving grandmother of Becca, Nick and Alex Antonakos, Phoebe and Christian Sauer. The loving great grandmother of Conor and Jacob Belanger and cherished sister of Georgianna Bowman of Woburn, Elia Demetri of Westford and Pauline Demetri of Cambridge.
A funeral service will be conducted in the McLaughlin - Dello Russo Family Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St., WOBURN, Tuesday, April 10th, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. Services will conclude with burial at Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. It has been requested that in lieu of flowers contributions may be made in Rebecca's memory to the Mass General Cancer Center @ www.givingmassgeneral.org/cancer.