Lisa Leilani Pereyra

Lisa Leilani Pereyra “Mama P”, 63, of Dale City, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on December 30, 2018. Lisa was born on June 6, 1955 in Honolulu, Hawaii to the late Adams C. and Agnes Marie “Liborio” Travens, and grew up in the valley (down 139 stairs) in Aiea, HI. She graduated from Aiea High School where she was a soprano in the traveling show choir, “Aiea Swinging Singers”. In continuing her musical passion for singing, she met her husband in a church choir in Hawaii, and the rest is history. While living in Hawaii, Lisa grew a strong love for sea creatures and a passion for preserving the ocean and had a strong affinity for her favorite animals, sea turtles and sharks. One of the ways she would preserve the ocean was to up cycle plastic bags. She would cut plastic bags and crochet them into coin purses, rugs, baskets and even stuffed animals. Lisa would use anything she could find and make it into art. She saw the world differently-- always beautiful. On July 19, 1975, Lisa married her loving husband Benjamin, after making him wait at the alter for an additional two hours past the wedding time! To this 43 year union, three children entered this world. Ben was a military man, and with that came the responsibility of Lisa, to care for the children as they moved from place to place. Everywhere they went, she would make sure the children were well cared for and never had a dull moment in learning all there is about life. Many times, Lisa would find that she ended up having more children under her care, than whom she had given birth! When kids were around, arts, crafts and lots of love were always near. After settling down in Virginia, Lisa was employed by Prince William County Public Schools, as a cafeteria nutritionist, for Bel Air Elementary School for eighteen years. She truly loved being able to see the children come through the line every day. She worked so hard to make sure no child went hungry and that they always knew that someone in the world loved and was thinking about them. There were many occasions where Lisa would extend an extra helping of food, or even paid for a child’s lunch out of her own pocket. While working here, she made lifelong friends in her coworkers, who she referred to as her sisters. Lisa enjoyed volunteering and sharing her talents. She and her family volunteered at Fort Belvoir Catholic Church for over 20 years. Lisa and her husband, Ben, would do music for Sunday school, sing in the Contemporary Choir and also direct the Ft. Belvoir Children's Choir. She would also paint faces for any event Fort Belvoir would have. Lisa always said, "We are put on this Earth to love and serve the Lord." She did so by sharing these wonderful gifts and her love for children. Lisa loved people. She never met a stranger and was able to remember so many details about the people she met in such a short amount of time. Lisa loved to talk and thoroughly enjoyed events where she could meet new people and reunite with old friends. This was ever present in the Annual Pereyra Easter Picnic that she and her family hosted. On Wednesdays, Lisa would get together with good friends/family at IHOP to fellowship and catch up from the previous week. Another one of her favorite activities was to get together and make music. She would sing Hawaiian music, hymns and more. She had one of those voices that you were able to listen to all day, a voice that could melt your heart. Lisa was an incredible artist and always saw the beauty in the world, which she translated on her canvas. She would paint/draw people, school houses, painted murals for schools and landscape paintings so perfect you would wish you could live there. Many of her masterpieces were made for children or to make children smile. Every year she worked hard to enter the Prince William County Fair and always swept the competition with many blue ribbons. One of her favorite objects to paint were eggs. She would paint real eggs and wooden ones, each more beautiful than the last. These gorgeous eggs were often given as gifts from Lisa and are treasured among the recipients still today. Not only was she an artist on canvas…Lisa could cook! One of her favorite things to do in the kitchen was bake her famous banana bread. Lisa would spend hours in the kitchen preparing these loaves for family, friends and strangers. It brought joy and a smile to her face as people enjoyed and boasted about her banana bread. Although she freely gave her recipe out, it was never as good as Mama P’s. Lisa’s whole world was her family. She loved them dearly and enjoyed every minute she had with them. As a mother, she was stern yet calm, tough yet soft. She didn’t mince words when it came to discipline, but always made sure her children understood it was all out of love. Long days, late nights, rehearsals, work schedules, concerts, performances, trips and more don’t even begin to scratch the surface of motherhood for Lisa. Mama P. always instilled in them that they can make a difference, but also ingrained how important it is to enjoy life and make beautiful memories. Nothing gave her more joy than the fact that all three of her children would carry on the legacy of inspiring and caring for children, by finding occupations in the classroom. Mama P’s light has diminished here on earth…only to shine on us even brighter from up above. Lisa leaves to cherish her memory, her loving husband of 43 years, Benjamin T. Pereyra; her caring children, two daughters, Leilani Sayasithsena (NouNou) and Malia White (Allen); one son, Benjamin D. Pereyra (Elisabeth); her “adopted” son, Louis Kim; her precious granddaughter, Isabelle Ka’iulani White; one brother, Lester Travens (Teresita); her spoiled furbaby, Kahuna; and an incredible number of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, whom she loved dearly. A Funeral Mass and Celebration of Life will be held 11 AM on March 9, 2019 at Christ Church, 7600 Ox Rd, Fairfax Station, VA 22039. A reception of family and friends will follow in the church's fellowship hall. The family asks that everyone in attendance wear Hawaiian Aloha Shirts and/or Lisa’s favorite color, green, to personalize this celebration in her honor. A private burial will take place at Quantico National Cemetery at a later date.

Lisa Leilani Pereyra

June 6, 1955 - December 30, 2018