VANORDEN, KHOURIE

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Monday, October 23, 2006 at 05:03:02 :

Marin Independent Journal
October 2, 2001

LILA SMITH VanORDEN, (1927 - 2001)
Passed away on September 29, 2001 of complications arising from cancer. She died in peace at her home in Kentfield, where she lived for over 30 years and raised her three children. She was born on February 5, 1927 and raised in Pelham Manor, New York, a suburb of New York City. At the age of 13 she moved to Los Angeles with her mother Evelyn and her brother Robert. She attended preparatory school in Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, DC, where she graduated in 1944. She then attended her first two years of college at Wells College in Aurora, New York, then went on to graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1948. Lila became a U.S. Navy Intelligence Code Clerk shortly after graduation and then worked in the advertising industry in New York City until 1951. She moved to San Francisco in 1952, where she married Michael Khourie and had two sons, Peter and Matthew. In 1963 she married Howard Van Orden and had a daughter, Leslie. Lila spent time teaching elementary school and in residential real estate sales during the 1960's and 1970's, before retiring in 1975. She enjoyed tennis, golf, bridge, reading, and traveling in her leisure time. Lila's devotion to her children was paramount and unwavering throughout her 50 years as a mother. She will always be remembered lovingly by her children for this. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, October 3, 2001 at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ross, 14 Lagunitas Road. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, 150 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612. Keaton Mortuary, 1022 E Street, San Rafael, 415-453-0571.