Delilah Ann Filip, 78, a resident of Fountain Hills for 13 years, passed away peacefully on the morning of Jan. 28, 2021.

Delilah was born to Lambert and Anne Wagner on Sept. 10, 1942, in Chicago, Ill., the younger of two children. Through a mutual friend, she reconnected many years later with a childhood acquaintance, Ronald Filip, whom she eventually married on June 4, 1966. Ron and Delilah raised their two sons, Deron and Dean, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, before taking a life-altering trip in 1976 to a relatively little-known vacation destination called Arizona. Through subsequent visits, the family fell in love with their newly discovered gem in the southwest, vacationing there frequently and eventually relocating to the desert.

To say Delilah lived a full life is an understatement, evident from the myriad of experiences and interests that shaped her time on earth. First and foremost, though, was believing in the death, burial and resurrection of her God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in 1979. With her spiritual footing now on solid ground, Delilah immersed herself in her church as a faithful volunteer, and regularly attended Bible studies. Delilah continued to grow in her faith as the years rolled on and wasn’t afraid to share the love of Christ with others. In recent years, she discovered the devotional book Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. She was amazed at how pertinent each day’s reading was to her life and to the lives and struggles of family and friends, prompting her to purchase additional copies to give away on several occasions. Of Delilah’s many interests, travel always seemed to be at the top of her list. In addition to multiple trips around the States, she also visited the Holy Land, Paris, London, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and enjoyed a most memorable journey to the country of her mother’s heritage, Slovakia.

Beyond traveling, Delilah had many other enjoyments: movies, Broadway productions, Shakespearean plays and festivals, sporting events both live and on television, golfing, jazz and rock concerts, amusement parks, novels, wildlife sanctuaries and zoos. Delilah also loved her dogs. Roxy, a Miniature Schnauzer that her boys grew up with, and Tilly, a Scottish Terrier that she “mothered” years later, were her pride and joy from the animal kingdom.

Delilah was preceded in death by her parents and brother Richard. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Ronald; sons, Deron (Cindy) and Dean; sister-in-law Joanne; nieces Carrie and Carla (Kevin); and nephew Justin. Delilah will be laid to rest at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Scottsdale.