Silia Maria Jova

Silia Jova, 70, died peacefully at her home in Indianapolis on January 13, 2026. She was a cherished wife, mother, sister, cousin, aunt, teacher and friend.

Silia Maria Jova was born on March 14, 1955 in Holguín, Oriente Province, Cuba. The unusual spelling of her first name came from the combination of her parents’ names, Silvio and Emilia. She and her family immigrated to the United States in 1958. She became a U.S. citizen in 1964. The family moved around the U.S. throughout her childhood, as her father worked as a physician for various VA hospitals. They lived in Connecticut, Virginia, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, Colorado, and Ohio before moving to Marion, Indiana when Silia was a senior in high school.

After high school, Silia attended Ball State University. There she majored in Spanish literature and met her future husband, Tim Monaghan. Inspired by work she did helping migrant farmworkers access health services, Silia also earned a masters’ degree in Community Health from Ball State. She and Tim were married on June 13, 1981, and in 1985 they moved to Indianapolis.

In Indianapolis, Silia worked as a paralegal for the Indiana Civil Rights Commission until the early 1990s, when she took a few years to stay home full-time with her young daughters. She took an active role in the parent co-op preschool they attended. She loved learning about and being with young children so much that she decided to become a preschool teacher herself. After teaching preschool for several years, she then taught preschool teachers-to-be as a faculty member of the Early Childhood Education department at Ivy Tech Community College. She retired from Ivy Tech after 20 years.

In her retirement, Silia volunteered with Immigrant Services at the Indianapolis Public Library. She enjoyed helping and getting to know people who had come to Indianapolis from all over the world through the English conversation circles and naturalization ceremonies held at the library. As an immigrant herself, helping others do the hard work needed to obtain citizenship and witnessing the naturalization ceremonies was tremendously meaningful to her.

Silia was curious about the world and unpretentious. She loved to read and learn new things. She loved history, and learning about her own family’s story. She loved the arts and had particularly great taste in music. She laughed easily and often, and her laugh was incredibly infectious. She was an advocate who cared deeply about justice. She loved to bake, and made amazing breads and pies in particular. She loved her pets, her home and her family. She loved sharing her many gifts with others and was a great listener. She was tough and hardworking. She was silly and fun. She was thoughtful and kind.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her oldest brother, Dr. Mario A. Rivera. She is survived by her husband, Tim Monaghan, daughters Natalie Monaghan (Jacob Silver) and Emily Monaghan (Jonathan Williams), brothers Fernando Jova and Paul Jova, sister-in-law Ana Rivera, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Shannon and Ruth Ann Monaghan, along with quite a few nieces, a nephew, and many other beloved relatives.

A private celebration of Silia’s life will be held at the family’s home in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Silia’s memory to any of the following: Immigrant Welcome Center (www.immigrantwelcomecenter.org), Indiana AID (www.indianaaid.org), ACLU of Indiana (www.aclu-in.org), WFYI (www.wfyi.org).