Lisa Ellison Padian
July 30, 1955 – September 20, 2026

Lisa Ellison Padian, beloved daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, educator, and friend, passed away peacefully on September 20, 2026, following a courageous year-long battle with cancer. She was 71 years old.

Lisa was born on July 30, 1955, to Mary Louise Padian and Joseph Fielding Padian, and was raised in the Towson, Maryland area. She attended Towson Catholic, where she was a spirited and aggressive member of the basketball team. She went on to Loyola College, completing both undergraduate and graduate-level studies in religious education and theology.

Lisa devoted much of her life to education and ministry. For approximately 30 years, she served as Director of Religious Education at Immaculate Conception Church in Towson, where she touched the lives of generations of children, families, and parishioners through her dedication to faith and education. Later in her career, she brought her experience to the field of Catholic education finance, working with Tuition Management Services.

Lisa retired at the age of 58 and embraced the opportunity to enjoy life on her own terms, surrounded by the people, animals, and places she loved. Her beautiful 11-acre farm in Northern Baltimore County became a special place of peace, nature, and companionship. Over the years, the farm was home to horses, dogs, and cats, all of whom Lisa welcomed into what she affectionately considered her "fur family." She found great joy in caring for them and in the simple pleasures of being surrounded by nature.

Retirement also opened the door to new adventures and simple pleasures. Lisa discovered the joy of playing poker with friends, creating many hours of laughter, competition, and fellowship. She enjoyed afternoons on her boat, accompanied by her dogs, and she cherished her many trips to Ocean City, Maryland, where she enjoyed making memories with her family.  Sundays were regularly spent watching her favorite teams, the Baltimore Ravens and the Orioles. A special winter activity for Lisa was navigating the ski slopes at Round Top in PA or sledding down her farm hills after a snow with her dogs. Schedules on the farm included riding her Thoroughbred, Virgil.  Whether gathered around a poker table, spending a day on the water, relaxing at the beach, or simply enjoying her farm and the animals she loved, Lisa knew how to appreciate the good things in life.

Lisa will be remembered for her devotion to her family, her commitment to education and faith, her love of animals and nature, and the many lives she influenced throughout her years. Her home, her work, and her life reflected a deep capacity for caring—for people, for animals, and for the world around her.

Lisa is survived by her brothers, Bruce and Joe Padian, her sister, Pamela Emge, her cousins, Stephen Norris, Susan Sullivan, the MacDonalds in CA, many nieces and nephews, along with countless friends and others whose lives she touched. Lisa is now at rest and in peace.

Friends may visit at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc. 1050 York Rd. Towson, MD on Friday, September 25th from 2-4 & 6-8pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Immaculate Conception Church on Saturday, September 26th at 10am. The interment will follow at Mt. Maria Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Lisa's memory to Best Friends Animal Society www.bestfriends.org or Chesapeake Bay Retriever Relief and Rescue www.cbrrescue.org in recognition of her lifelong love for animals.

Her memory will live on in the people she taught, the family she loved, the friends with whom she shared laughter and fellowship, the animals she cared for, and the many lives made better by her presence.