Lilia Dizon, a notable post-war star of LVN Pictures and once the recipient of the “Asia’s Best Actress” award in the 1950s, has passed away on June 15, Monday morning. She was 92 years old.
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She is survived by her family, including her children Christopher De Leon and Toni Abad.
It was Toni who announced Lilia’s passing to ABS-CBN News, to whom she shared a moving eulogy.
“To Pinky, Christopher, Melissa, Cory, and I, she was simply ‘Mom.’ But above all she loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart and soul. She was always giving honor and praise to God even during the final days of her life. She often said that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God. When she couldn’t read the bible anymore I made a vow that would read it to her every night. Those are the most precious nights that I will always treasure in my heart,” she said.
“My mother was an extraordinary woman who took the world on with an exquisite grace that was possessed by her alone. She played many roles in her lifetime — woman, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, actress, muse, and icon — and played them so phenomenally. I stand here today, proud of the woman that she was and grateful for the woman that I am because of her.”
She thanked all those who had been part of her mother’s life and assured everyone that “her spirit and legacy lives on within each of us who have had the privilege of knowing her.” Toni also dedicated to her a few lines from her favorite song, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
“You will always be in my heart and in my soul, mom. Until we see each other again. Rest now my beautiful star!” Toni ended.
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Lilia, whose real name is Claire Strauss, was known best for her roles in the 1950s films “Bathaluman,” “Sanda Wong,” and “Kandelerong Pilak”–where she had won Asia’s Best Actress at the Cambodia Film Festival. She had three children, Pinky, Christopher, and Melissa, with her first husband, actor-director Gil De Leon. She then had two more, Toni and Corrie, with her second husband, businessman Antonio Abad.
She was said to have passed away due to lung cancer and has been cremated in Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.
(ALSO READ: “Oldest Active Actress” Anita Linda Passes Away)
May she rest in peace.
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