Lilian Sofia Lawley (Sokolowsky)
1924-2024

Lilian Sofia Sokolowsky was born in Port Haney, British Columbia, Canada, and lived most of her childhood in Yahk, a small town in southern British Columbia. She left home at 16 and had several professions – waitress, box factory worker, rooming house owner, female wrestler, medical assistant, and her favorite – ballroom dance instructor.

Lilian moved to San Diego in the late 1940s to escape the cold weather in Canada and lived there for the rest of her life. For the last several decades, she lived near the coast and loved to walk by the bay.

Lilian met Fred Lawley, her husband-to-be, in San Diego. They both lived in the same rooming house. She was sitting on the steps when he came home from work one day and offered him a bite of her orange. They were both health enthusiasts and enjoyed dancing and outdoor activities. They married and had four children: Fred, Susan, Mark and Celia.

Fred built the family home in southeast San Diego, and the family lived there for 14 years, moving to Santee in 1970, where three of the children graduated from Santana High School. The family then moved to La Mesa, and Celia graduated from Grossmont High School. Along the way, Lilian was a stay-at-home mom, took various jobs canvassing for sales leads, and in the 1970s, started Santee Home Shoppe on Mission Gorge Road in Santee. She had a thriving business buying and selling used furniture and appliances.

Lilian and Fred divorced in the 1980s, and Lilian moved near the beach, eventually buying a house there and owning rental property for a short time. She loved her home, lying outside in the sun, and she danced every chance she got. Ballroom dancing was her favorite, but she also did square dancing, contra dancing and country western dancing.

Lilian's three biggest hobbies were dancing, physical activity, and health, and her active lifestyle and focus on nutrition earned her a long life.  She was delighted to dance with her two sons at her 100th birthday party at a park by the harbor in San Diego.

Lilian's happiest time in life was when she was raising her four children, and she often said throughout her life that she loved all four equally.

Lilian was one-of-a-kind. She was assertive about what she needed and wanted to her dying day, and yet kind to the people around her. She was amazingly effective at finding people to volunteer to help her as her physical abilities declined. In the last few years of her life, many helpers and friends were there for her, and she appreciated all of them.

Lilian had three siblings, two of whom predeceased her – Anna and Eddie. Of her family of origin, she is survived by her brother, Edmund, who lives in Vancouver, Canada; three nieces, Pam, Sharon, and Tami; a nephew, Teddy, and a cousin, Eva.

Lilian is also survived by her four children, Fred, Susan, Mark, and Celia, and her three grandchildren, Kenny, Ariel, and Sarah, who will miss her independent spirit, her sense of humor and her steadfast love.