Obituary of Lisa Y. Higgs

Lisa Ann Yoder Higgs, a Madison resident, passed away peacefully at age 56 on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in her home following her battle with cancer.

Lisa was born in Morgantown, West Virginia on August 22, 1967, and grew up in Montclair and Boonton Township, New Jersey. She returned to West Virginia to attend West Virginia University where she was heavily involved in her sorority, Delta Gamma as Social Chairman, which aligned with her love for event planning and entertaining. More recently, Lisa took pride in her position as Manager of Pricing in pharmaceuticals and always excelled in whatever she did, receiving many accolades for her exceptional work.

She was a strong and compassionate individual who was always looking out for the needs of others. Family was an irreplaceable part of her life and some of her favorite traditions include the many celebration brunches at various Diners as well as walking through the Willowwood Arboretum in Chester, NJ on Mother’s Day.

Traveling brought Lisa great joy as she often explored new places, encouraging others to do the same. A few of her favorite trips include her trip to Italy with her mother, her Caribbean family vacations, and the trips to China to adopt her two children. Her love of travel is also reflected through her early moves across various US states before returning to New Jersey to raise her children in Long Valley, and later settling down in Madison with her loving and devoted fiancé, Robert Chiarella.

Lisa is survived by her beloved children, Hana and Lucas Higgs. She also held a deep love for her devoted parents, William and Alys Yoder; brother, William B. Yoder III; and many other cherished family members and dear friends.

She will always be remembered by her beautiful, bright smile and positive outlook on life.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend a memorial visitation for Lisa beginning at 9:30am, with a Celebration of Life Service beginning at 11:30am on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at the Madison Memorial Home, 159 Main Street, Madison.

In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in Lisa’s memory to the Lisa Ann Yoder Memorial Scholarship Fund, Delta Gamma Foundation, 3250 Riverside Drive, Columbus, OH 43221. This scholarship was set up by Lisa before her passing in order to provide merit-based undergraduate scholarships to collegiate members of the Delta Gamma chapter at WVU. https://donate.deltagamma.org/yoder