Maria Pilar Tollinche, devout Catholic
Maria Pilar Tollinche, 81, passed away peacefully Sunday, June 25, 2023, in her Chicago home surrounded by her five children and wonderful caregivers.
She was born Nov. 4, 1941, in Zaragoza, Spain, to parents Rafael Bartolome and Maria Pilar Laborda. Maria graduated from secondary school in Zaragoza and finished the pediatric nursing program in 1966. She met her loving husband Ret. Col. Charles R. Tollinche, MD, in 1968 walking along the Zaragoza University campus. They had a beautiful three-year courtship and married Aug. 6, 1971. They had five beautiful children in the span of six years. At that time, they also moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where her husband finished his surgical residency. After several years, they moved to Oklahoma City, Okla., when Charles joined the U.S. Air Force.
Their life was filled with travel and adventure, including a three-year stint in Bitburg, Germany, (Bitburg Air Force Base) 10 years in Satellite Beach, Fla. (Patrick Air Force Base), four years in Goldsboro, N.C. (Seymour Johnson Air Force Base), and three years in Hoboken, N.J. (private practice). After her husband’s passing in 2008 of a malignant brain tumor, Maria lived near her daughter, Maria Reed, in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. In 2021, she moved to Chicago, Ill., to be closer to her sons, Charles and Felix Tollinche, and to live in a wonderful independent living Center, the Clare, where she passed.
Maria had a wonderfully full life. She was a devout Catholic, attending both St. Jude the Apostle Church in Lewes and St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, where she served as a Eucharistic Minister and was a Columbiette. In addition, she participated in all kinds of activities and hobbies, including teaching Spanish to locals in the Lewes area, supporting a pregnancy shelter, watercolor painting, exercise clubs, book clubs, and many, many more. She was an incredible cook and enjoyed hosting lavish gatherings for friends and family. Maria also loved knitting and nearly professionalized her skills. Her children and grandchildren were the lucky beneficiaries of beautiful scarves and hats. She was an upbeat, energetic woman who relished time with family and friends. Beyond all this, she was an incredible, selfless and dedicated mother and beloved grandmother. Her children were her greatest pride, and she loved to brag that four graduated from Harvard University and two went on to become physicians.
In addition to her parents and brother, Maria was preceded in death by her loving husband of 37 years, Col. (Ret.) Charles R. Tollinche, MD. She is survived by her five children, Maria (Childers) Reed and her husband Joe of Lewes, Charles Tollinche and his wife Denise of Chicago, Ill., Luis Tollinche and his husband Peter Meyer of Cleveland, Ohio, Evelyn Miller of Bethesda, Md., and Felix Tollinche and his wife Nahva of Chicago. She also leaves behind 11 wonderful grandchildren, Henry and Max Childers, Benjamin and George Miller, Andrea, Maria and Charley Tollinche, Joel and Pearl Tollinche, and Brent and Etienne Meyer-Tollinche.
A visitation and Mass funeral were held June 28, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Chicago, Ill.
In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to Maria’s favorite cause, the Bayard House of Milton, which provides a loving and safe home for pregnant mothers and their children, ccwilm.org/donate/donation-form; or charity of choice.
Online condolences can be sent by visiting michalikfuneralhome.com/obituary/maria-tollinche?fbclid=IwAR3WfFT4yWyMwRxkUCkg7vtOveSAtVIpSNrsfUUVoYzCusNxA3y8Df53qDQ.
