Faith Soria Obituary

Faith McLeod Soria

Faith (Scotti) McLeod Soria died 11 January 2021. She was passionate about music, theatre, art, politics, and social issues. She kept track of books she read, plays she saw, and she wrote poetry herself. She had a wicked dry sense of humor, as befitted a New Englander born (1923) in Bangor, Maine. In 1942, Faith came west to attend the University of Chicago (where she acquired her nickname "Scotti"), leaving her position as first violinist in the Bangor Symphony. She worked on the Manhattan Project and became a stewardess for the fledgling United Airlines. She married the love of her life, Rodolfo M. Soria, December 24, 1947.

She and Rudy lived mostly in Western Springs, raising three children, as Scotti spent years of volunteering with the League of Women Voters, the Citizens' Information Service, and the Theatre of Western Springs (TWS - as member and chair of its play reading and casting committee); and later paid work at the La Grange Library. She loved music (she played violin, viola, and piano), theatre, the community of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Hinsdale, and travel; and was recognized by TWS and Lifeline Theatre. Her marriage and her children gave her life meaning. In 1992, she and Rudy moved back to Maine, where they lived until shortly after he died (2008), when she returned to the Chicago area to be closer to her children.

Faith was predeceased by her husband Rudy, mother and father, Wellie Mae and Charles McLeod, sister Hilda and brother Malcolm. She is survived by her children Steven (Judy), Karen (Heather), and David (Katie); grandchildren Max (Katherine), Zac (Feygi), Jennifer, Alexander (Jorrie), and Allison; and great grandchildren Decker, Vada, and Nina; by her beloved cousin Judy, and her nieces and nephews Susanna (Bob, dec.), Andrew (Deborah), Lili (John), and Charlie (Sandy).

A private memorial gathering will be held, and internment will be at Pine Grove Cemetery, Bangor, Maine. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Unitarian Universalist Association, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108 (www.UUA.org), to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850 (www.birds.cornell.edu ), or to GreenMan Theatre Troupe, PO Box 514, Elmhurst, IL, 60126 (www.greenmantheatre.org ).

"And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."