Mrs. Sylvia Ann Whitley Lilley, aged 83, of Washington, went to be with her Lord on Nov. 7, 2019. She died peacefully at her home surrounded by family.

A memorial service will be held Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, at 2 PM, at First Baptist Church in Washington. Dr. Greg Barmer will officiate. The First Baptist Church choir will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Mrs. Lilley was born on Sept. 26, 1936, in Beaufort County to the late J. McCoy Whitley and Lula Mae Winstead Whitley. She married Pender Ray Lilley on April 3, 1960, at First Baptist Church, where she was a lifetime member. She sang in the church choir for more than 60 years, often serving as a soloist. She served as a Sunday School teacher for many years and also served the church on multiple committees. She sang with the Greenville Choral Society for eight seasons in the 1980s and ’90s.

Mrs. Lilley worked in office administration and sales for Cargill, Inc., Tidewater Equipment Co, and Flanders Filters, Inc., from which she retired in 1990.

Survivors include her husband Ray Lilley, of the home; and her son, Ron Hanson Lilley, his wife, Lynn Snead Lilley, and her beloved granddaughter, Harper McCoy Lilley, of Kernersville. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Jerry Whitley and Billy Whitley.

Mrs. Lilley will lie in state at Paul Funeral Home on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019, and Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, for visitation. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, at First Baptist Church in Washington, prior to the memorial service, and other times at their home.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made to Alzheimer’s Disease Research, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, PO Box 1950, Clarksburg, MD 20871-1950, 855-345-6237, brightfocus.org/stopAD

Condolences may be addressed to the family online by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com.

Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Lilley family.