Marla Elaine Lira

My wonderful, funny, sarcastic mom, Marla Elaine Lira (Wells) passed away on Wednesday April 9, 2025. She suffered from a stroke in September of 2024 and never truly recovered.
Marla was born in Visalia, Ca on February 24, 1956 to Richard and Florene Wells. She grew up in Carson, Ca with her brother, Richard and sister, Kathy, but their family was much bigger, filled with aunts, uncles and cousins as far as the eyes could see. Her childhood was filled with camping trips, and summers spent with her extended family.
Marla spent her early adulthood in Visalia, Ca married to Paul Lira, together they had their only child, Kathryn. While living in Visalia, Marla worked for the Tulare County District Attorneys office until a little after Katie was born, then she became a stay at home mom and a full-time babysitter. Marla truly loved all of the kids that came through the house over those years. In 1994 Marla and Katie moved to Camarillo, Ca where she spent the rest of her life.
Marla retired in 2024 after working almost 30 years for the County of Venturas Department of Child Support Services. She spent most of that career working with Kathy before her passing in 2010. Working together, vacationing together, crafting or just having dinner the sisters were inseparable. The pair of them are reunited.
If you were lucky enough to be in my moms orbit then you probably received a handmade item from her. She loved making blankets for babies, quilts for friends, cross stitched items, painted furniture, table runners, and so many other arts and crafts.
With all that being said, she was loved by many but she will be missed most by, us, her daughter Katie Drewry and son-in-law Michael, her granddaughter Lilly and grandson Elijah. To us she was grandma, to us she was mom. We will miss receiving random gifts in the mail, and finding our Christmas stocking stuffers in June (after she put them in a "safe place"), going to craft shows, traveling, or just talking to her on a random Tuesday night.
Marla is rejoicing in heaven with her mom and dad and sister along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. May the circle be unbroken.
..Family in the care of Alison Balding, Funeral Arranger
Services
Private Committal
Conejo Mountain Memorial Park
2052 Howard Road
Camarillo, CA 93012 To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marla, please visit our floral store.