Lila Faye Strickler Shallenberger
Vanderbilt
Lila Faye Strickler Shallenberger, of Vanderbilt, passed away on July 28, 2026.
Born May 12, 1936, to the late Wilfred Strickler and Olive Odessa Newell Strickler, Lila lived a beautiful life defined by faith, family, hard work and an extraordinary ability to make the ordinary feel special.
She was the devoted wife of the late Hank Shallenberger and the proud mother of five daughters. Her family was the center of her world, and the love, traditions, talents and memories she gave them will continue for generations.
She was an amazing cook and baker, filling her home with the smells of homemade meals, fresh-baked treats, and food lovingly prepared and preserved for her family. She was a talented seamstress, refinished furniture and could seemingly make or restore just about anything with her own two hands. She also had a wonderful gift for music. She loved listening to country-western but was also able to play the piano by ear. Lila believed deeply in hard work and service.
For almost 50 years, she cleaned local churches, continuing to work until her retirement at the remarkable age of 82. It seems especially fitting that so much of her life’s work took place in churches, because her faith in God was at the very center of who she was. Of all the traditions Lila created for her family, perhaps none was more magical than Christmas.
Christmas morning at Lila’s house was something her five girls would never forget. After the girls went to bed, she and Hank would decorate the house inside and out, inclusive of the tree. Christmas was made feel larger than life. Packages were everywhere because Lila wrapped absolutely everything separately, even the socks. Her daughters would wait excitedly at the top of the steps, knowing they weren’t allowed to come down until Lila’s sisters and their Pap had arrived. Only then could Christmas morning truly begin. And no Christmas season was complete without Lila’s incredible cookie plates. She baked an amazing assortment of cookies and carefully prepared plates for family and friends. Everyone who came to visit looked forward to them.
Like so many things Lila did, they were made with her hands but given from her heart. Lila shared an especially profound bond with her twin sister and best friend, Twila Strickler. When Twila passed away 10 years ago, Lila lost far more than a sister. She lost the person who had been beside her from the very beginning-her best friend, her other half, her everything. It was Lila’s unwavering love of God that carried her through that tremendous loss and the years that followed. Her faith gave her strength, and she held firmly to the belief that death was not the end. She knew in her heart that one day she and Twila would be together again. In the final years of her life, Lila made her home with her daughter, Jane and son-in-law, Ronnie. She was blessed to receive exceptional care, tenderness, patience, and devotion. Her family will forever be grateful for the love and dignity with which she was cared for.
Lila is survived by her five daughters and their spouses: Luann (Rich) Lint, Lori (Bob) Kieta, Cathy (Dawn) Bickerton, Twila (Rick) Mezan, and Jane (Ronnie) Ritenour. She was a loving grandmother to Justin and John Lint, Jessie and Anthony Kieta, Jackson, Benton, Claudia and Ruby Bickerton, Kara Morgan and Ryan Mezan and Jacob Ritenour. Her legacy continues through her great-grandchildren: Emma and Molly Lint, Iris Kieta, Charlotte Bickerton, William and Michael Jones, and Edward and Walker Morgan.
In addition to her parents, Lila was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Hank; her twin sister and lifelong best friend, Twila; and her other beloved sister, Nina Hamm.
Lila leaves behind a family forever shaped by the woman who raised them and loved them. They will remember her hands working in the kitchen, the sound of her playing the piano, the things she sewed and restored, the churches she faithfully cared for, the cookie plates everyone anticipated, the Christmas mornings she made magical, and the countless ways she turned a house into a home. Most of all, they will remember her faith and her love. There is great comfort in believing that the reunion Lila waited so faithfully for has finally come, that somewhere beyond this life, two sisters who entered this world together and spent 10 long years apart have found one another again. And perhaps, after all those years when Lila made her girls wait at the top of the steps for Christmas morning to begin, this time it was Twila who was waiting for Lila. Together again at last.
Family and friends will be received from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 30, in the BROOKS FUNERAL HOME, INC., 111 East Green Street, Connellsville, where services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, with The Reverend Brian Swan officiating. Interment will follow in the Dickerson Run Union Cemetery.
To offer condolences or remembrance visit www.brooksfuneralhomes.com