Lyla M. Selva

Lyla M. Selva passed away peacefully on February 28, 2026, in Newport Beach, California, at the age of 96. Born on April 4, 1929, in León, Nicaragua, she immigrated to the United States as a young woman with only $60 and a fierce determination to create a better life. She began working the overnight shift at the Hostess Bakery plant in San Francisco while living in a residence for young women run by nuns in the Haight-Ashbury District. There she met and soon married the love of her life, Manuel A. Selva, in Nicaragua before the couple returned to San Francisco to build their future together.

While Manuel studied English and prepared for his medical board examinations to resume his career as a physician, Lyla worked at AAA and later managed the front office of his medical practice in San Francisco’s Mission District. For more than three decades she greeted patients with warmth and kindness, making everyone who entered the office feel respected and cared for as they served the Latino community.

Lyla was a devoted mother to her five sons, raising them while working full time and instilling in them the values of faith, discipline, humility, and hard work. She taught them to speak both English and Spanish, reminding them that knowing two languages made them “worth two people instead of one,” and encouraged them to embrace Jesuit education and the ideal of being “a person for others.” Her sons—Manuel Jr. (Manny), Fernando, Roberto (Bert), Jorge, and William (Will)—credit her with laying the foundation for their diverse careers in medicine, business, higher education, and media.

Known for her rare gift of connecting with others through genuine conversation and deep listening, Lyla touched countless lives with her curiosity, kindness, and warmth. In her later years, her legacy was honored through the Lyla M. Selva Scholarship at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, established by her sons to support Latina students and perpetuate the values of perseverance, education, and service she embodied.

She is survived by her five sons and their wives—Manuel Jr. (Manny) and Judi, Fernando, Roberto (Bert) and Cindie, Jorge and Marcy, and William (Will) and Jenn—along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will carry forward the lessons and love she gave so freely. She is reunited in heaven with her beloved husband of 63 years, Dr. Manuel A. Selva, Sr. To all who knew her, she was simply “Momsie,” a name that reflected the unconditional love she shared with family and friends alike.