Lisa Marie (Popoli) Kilian

Lisa Marie (Popoli) Kilian, age 56, passed away peacefully Friday, March 13th, 2026, in hospice care at SECU Hospice House of Brunswick in Bolivia, NC. Born in Baltimore, MD, Lisa graduated with her Master’s Degree in English from Salisbury University and went on to teach high school and college level English for nearly 30 years. She was loved by her students and known for making her lessons on Shakespeare and Robert Frost not only easy to digest, but fun to learn. Sharing her passion for literature, she inspired those in her life to find joy in reading and encouraged the desire for lifelong learning among her students and peers.

Lisa was also a foodie at heart. Her passion was teaching, but she was truly happiest when sharing good food with her friends and family. Lisa’s dream meal would be escargot and lamb lollipops as an appetizer, filet mignon and lobster tail as a main, and crème brûlée for dessert. But she would also settle for spaghetti with slow cooker red sauce, shared with her kids as they watched The Nanny.

Lisa loved her children – they were her pride and joy in this life. She taught them by example how to be strong in the face of great strife, how to forgive those who have hurt them, how to cry often and with no remorse, and how limitless someone's capacity for love can be.

Lisa is survived by her two children Caleb Clark and Grayce Kilian and by her second set of parents, her big sister and brother-in-law Michele and Kevin Ford. As well as her other brothers and sisters, Diane Thomas, Michael Manning Jr., Timothy Popoli, and Christopher Popoli. She is also survived by her many beloved nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and her two grand-fur babies who will miss her very much, Oreo and Shelby. Lisa was preceded in death by her mother and father, Roberta and Michael Popoli.

A private family celebration of life will be held this spring in Charleston, SC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Foundation, 1414 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401 or online at lifecare.org/donate.