Paula I. Avila, 44, of Roanoke, IN, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, at 10:19 p.m., at home.
Ms. Avila graduated from Huntington North High School in 1995 and the University of St. Francis in 1999 with a dual degree in biology and chemistry. She worked as a lab assistant at University of St. Francis, then as a lab tech at Ft. Wayne Medical Laboratory, and for the last six years in research at Manchester University. She was a practicing Catholic and belonged to the Hispanic Leadership Coalition of Northeast Indiana (former president), Faith in Indiana and American Chemical Society. She was a recipient of the Franciscan Spirit award.
She was born on Dec. 22, 1976, in Maravillas, Aguascalientes, Mexico, to Pablo Avila and Maria Elena Deluna Fahl. Her father survives in Mexico and her mother survives in Roanoke.
Additional survivors include three sisters, Laura Avila, of Fort Wayne, Alma DeWeese, of Warren, and Gloria (Richard) May, of Fort Wayne; a brother, Miguel Avila, of California; and several nieces and nephews.
Calling will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, from 3 to 4 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m., at Roanoke Memorial Chapel, of Deal-Rice Funeral Homes.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, at 10 a.m., with an hour of calling prior to the service. The Mass will take place at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Roanoke. Rev. Dale Bauman will officiate.
Burial will follow in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Roanoke.
Memorials may be made to Hispanic Leadership Coalition of NE Indiana, Where Passion Meets Education or to HLCNI, in care of Center for Nonviolence, 235 W. Creighton Ave., Fort Wayne, IN 46807.
Online condolences may be made at dealricefuneralhomes.com.
