Lillian Sandoval Roybal, age 95, died peacefully in San Diego, California on May 19, 2018. The daughter of Alfredo Sandoval and Erinea Aragon, Lillian was born on February 21, 1923 at Yankee, New Mexico. She graduated from Huerfano County high in Walsenburg, Colorado, and received a secretarial certification from Emily Griffith Technical College in Denver, Colorado. As a young woman, Lillian loved to dance and met her future husband, Rudy Edward Roybal only weeks before he shipped out to Camp Pendleton, California as part of the 2nd Division Marine Corps. They married on September 18, 1942 and she followed him to California, where she proudly served her country by becoming the first woman to rig surface controls in B-24 aircraft, and commended for completing four ships a day, from stringing and ripping to clean-up. Lillian was ahead of her time, balancing full time work with raising her three boys throughout most of her life.
Rudy, her loving husband of 71 years, predeceased her on November 5, 2013. Lillian is survived by two siblings, Emeline Pineda of Riverside, California and Dora Zinanti, of Pueblo, Colorado; her three sons and their spouses ─ Ralf James and Olga Roybal, Dennis Jacob and Sandy Roybal, and Gerard Lee Roybal and Margaret Grover; eleven grandchildren; ten great grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. A woman of great faith and constant love, she will be missed by her family and many friends. A vigil will be held on Thursday, June 7, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Imperial Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 5450 Hwy. 78 West. The formal mass will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, June 8, at St. Leander’s Catholic Church, 1402 E. 7th St., followed immediately by burial services at noon at Imperial Memorial Gardens.
