Leila Hiltbrunner Obituary

Hiltbrunner
Leila Lucia
(Kurbán) Hiltbrunner
May 29, 1941
December 7, 2022

Leila Lucia Kurbán Hiltbrunner, aged 81, passed away peacefully on December 7, 2022. She was surrounded by family and is survived by her husband Alfred Hiltbrunner, her daughter Heidi Schnakenberg, her son Andres Hiltbrunner, and her granddaughter Kloie Belle Schnakenberg. She is also survived by her sisters Mónica Kurbán, Alejandra Kurbán, and Diana Kurbán, and brother Daniel Kurbán.
Leila was born in San Juan, Argentina to Chafik Nauom Kurbán and Filomena Gil, and later raised by her stepmother Lucia Cristina López de Kurbán, with whom Leila helped raise four siblings.
Leila graduated from Universidad Provincial Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in San Juan as a Professor of Chemistry and Physics. Leila came to Boulder, Colorado in 1980 as a researcher to study the Ionosphere for the Argentinean government, and while there was introduced to Alfred Hiltbrunner through a cousin. Shortly after meeting, Leila and Alfred fell in love and married on October 7, 1981. Although they married in Argentina, Leila left her loving family to move permanently to the United States.
In the United States, Leila worked for 16 years as a Spanish teacher at The Colorado Springs School, and additionally performed translation services at the Globelink Foreign Language Center in Colorado Springs. After retiring from teaching, Leila became very active volunteering and participating in her church, Iglesia Hispana de la Roca. She was also an avid participant in her Wednesday morning Bible Study and loved studying the Lord.
It is difficult to describe Leila's genuine caring for her family, friends, and community. Leila spent countless hours over decades assisting other Latin immigrants with their integration into the USA, and helped people indiscriminately where she saw need. One of her favorite traditions each Christmas was to donate money on behalf of each family member to World Vision—providing animals like ducks, goats, and chickens to help families in need. She was a beloved mother and caretaker, and an enthusiastic and adored grandmother to 4-year-old Kloie (Kiki) Belle. She was so loving and concerned about Kiki and took immaculate care of her little granddaughter while her mommy and daddy were working or traveling.
We are at a loss for words to describe Leila's loving personality and what she meant to her husband, her children, her siblings, and scores of people and families whose lives she so deeply impacted, and we are incredibly grateful for the presence she had in each of our lives. Leila was an angel and she will always be remembered as such.
A memorial service to celebrate Leila will take place on January 14, 2023, at 2:00 PM at First Southern Baptist Church. All are welcome to attend and there will be a reception to follow. The church is located at 1409 Palmer Park Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80909.
In lieu of flowers, Leila's family asks that you make a donation to one of her favorite organizations, World Vision or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital if you feel called to do so.