FITCHBURG - With her husband at her side, Lydia Elizabeth Espinoza, age 78, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Fitchburg, Wis., passed away peacefully in her home on the early afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022.

Lydia was born on Aug. 15, 1944, in Sucre, Bolivia, to Enrique and Ina (Hodgkinson) Urquidi. She was one of seven children and is survived by her siblings, Susana, Marcela, Enrique, Guillermo, Cristina and Ina; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends in Bolivia.

Lydia graduated with a medical degree from the University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca. She married Juan in Copacabana, Bolivia, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca, on Dec. 14, 1968, and moved to Baltimore in 1970. After staying home to raise children, she completed her psychiatry residency in Gainesville, Fla., and worked for many years as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Ocala and Jacksonville, Fla.

Lydia was the proud mother of three children and the doting Abuelita to seven beautiful grandchildren whom she absolutely adored. In her spare time, Lydia loved to read, sew, keep in touch with her family in Bolivia, and recount all manner of stories. She was a wonderful cook and her cooking will be missed as will the beauty and love she expressed through her quilts and in the costumes she made for grandchildren for Halloween. Lydia also loved to play cards (Loba) at the kitchen table with her family and could never be counted out no matter by how much you thought you were winning. Throughout her long, rich life, she never knowingly or unknowingly did harm to anyone.

Lydia is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Juan; her three children, Marco Espinoza (Jessica) of Wausau, Wis., Kristina Espinoza (Joe) of Madison, Wis., and Carlos Espinoza-Forlenza (Jennifer) of Fitchburg, Wis; and seven grandchildren, Gabriel, Raphael, Eva, Ina, Santiago, Marco and Alejandro. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A private memorial service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lydia's name to Agrace HospiceCare of Fitchburg, Wis., whose staff provided excellent support to Lydia and her family in her final days. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson Fitchburg
Funeral & Cremation Care
2950 Chapel Valley Road
(608) 442-5002

Lydia Elizabeth Espinoza

August 15, 1944 - December 18, 2022

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