Duggan's | Obituaries List

Victoria “Vicky” Hilsendeger of San Francisco died in hospice on October 18, 2026, at 5
a.m., at the age of 88, following a massive stroke a week earlier.
Victoria was born July 14, 1938, in Towner, North Dakota. She was baptized at the old
Mission Dolores and attended Notre Dame Catholic grammar school for two years, then
McKinley Middle School, Everett Junior High, and Mission High School. Known as “Sissy”
or “Sis” to her siblings and “Vicky” to her friends, she was a resourceful girl. She once
posed as a boy named “Vic” to get a paper route, because girls weren’t allowed.
Victoria worked as a data processor at Wells Fargo for more than 30 years before taking
early retirement. A single mother, she saved and bought a house in San Francisco and sent
her son through Catholic grammar school and high school. She was loving and nurturing,
stern yet compassionate, and she valued fair play, trust, and honesty.
She was a first-class chef, known for her specialty pastries and pies and her memorable
Sunday dinners. She loved the LA Rams and jigsaw puzzles. In 1968 she met Tony Garritano
at work, and the two were together for 58 years, a romance for the ages with never a
harsh word between them. In retirement they traveled by cruise to Alaska, Canada, and
the Caribbean, and they loved long train rides and river cruises. Tony died later the same
day.
She was preceded in death by her sister Ethel Cook; her brothers Milo, Richard, and
Jacob; and her parents, Joseph and Catherine. She is survived by her sisters Beverly
Colen and Violet Etherington; her son, Mark Lillie; her grandsons Marc Lillie and Nick Lillie;
numerous great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
There will be no local services. Tony’s urn will be placed in Victoria’s casket, and they will
be buried together. Services will be held at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Berwick, North
Dakota (date and time to be announced). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.