Lillian M. Porchia

Lillian Marie Newby Porchia Obituary

Lillian Marie Newby Porchia was born on May 4, 1928, in Jones County, Georgia to Cuyler Newby and Ada Jessie Billingslea Newby. In addition to being a sharecropper, her father also worked for the Central Railroad Co., in Macon, Georgia, and for the Hudson Motor Car Company in Detroit. Her mother taught school, worked in a cannery, and looked after her family. Lillian was the 9th of 10 children and the last of her siblings to make her transition. 

Lillian, who expired peacefully on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, in her apartment in Southfield, MI, was a member of Ebenezer A.M.E. church since 1946, the year her family became Detroit residents.

First employed at Wayne State University as a cafeteria cook, Lillian later trained as a medical technology assistant and was hired by the university’s School of Medicine in the mid-1960s, where she worked until retirement in 1991. Highly respected by many physicians, she was an efficient, diligent, and organized employee who worked alongside many pathologists including Dr. Jack Kevorkian. 

In 1963, Lillian married Alton Porchia (deceased), moved to Mark Twain Street near 7 Mile Rd., where she enjoyed cooking, tending to her garden, completing crossword puzzles, keeping up with her daily soap operas, and occasionally traveling to New York, Georgia, Arkansas, and Chicago. 

She is survived by 14 nieces and nephews: Willie James Newby, Jr., Rev. Roy Griffin, Jr., Geraldine Patterson Lamar, Dr. Peggy Griffin Pennock, Beverly Patterson Johnson, Michael Griffin, Lillian Denise Patterson, Cecil Patterson, Jr., Donald Patterson, Angela Baldwin Toomer, Bernard A. Newby, Brian Newby, Bruce Newby, and Richard H. Cain; a host of great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins. Deceased siblings include Willie James Newby, Mary Newby Moore, Bernard E. Newby, Cuyler J. Newby, Geraldine M. Newby Patterson, Ada L. Newby Cain, Alfred L. Newby, Frank C. Newby, and Johnny V. Newby; and deceased nephew, Kenneth R. Newby. 

A devout Christian, Lillian loved the Lord, and was thankful for the care she received from Lee Direct Care, Compassus Hospice, and her many friends and church family at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, especially Ronald and Dianne Spurlock.