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The Villages, Fla. — A memorial service for Osa McNeely Tilman, of The Villages, Fla., who died peacefully Monday, April 13, 2015, at the Cornerstone Hospice House in The Villages, will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the North Lake Presbyterian Church in The Villages.

A celebration of life will follow at The Waterfront Inn.

Arrangements are under the direction of Beyers Funeral Home and Crematory of Lady Lake, Fla.

Mrs. Tilman courageously battled leukemia for the last 20 months, her journey strengthened by her faith and optimism.

Osa was born in 1937, in Glendale, Calif. Her family moved to Natchez, her father’s home, when she was 7.

She graduated from Louisiana State University in 1958, and met and married her husband, Dean, in New Orleans in 1963. They raised their two sons, Matthew and Dean, in Jacksonville, Fla., and after retirement, moved to Destin, Fla., for five years before moving to The Villages in 2005.

Survivors include her beloved husband of 51 years, Dean Tilman III; two sons, Dean IV and wife, Cathy, and Matthew and wife, Barbie; five cherished grandchildren, Gracie, Nickel, Lucy, Pressly and Lila; one brother, Tom McNeely; two half-brothers, Don and Joe McNeely; and one half-sister, Jaime Graham.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or to a charity of choice.

Online condolences may be sent to beyersfuneralhome.com.