Mariana del Carmen Aguayo Pallamar de Gill, known to most as Mariana Gill, died unexpectedly on Jan. 15 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston of natural causes. Her husband was by her side. She was 68.

Mariana was born Dec. 16, 1948 in San Fernando, Chile, one of five children. She spent her early childhood moving from camp to camp in remote areas while her father worked on road construction. On May 22, 1960, at age 11, she was uncomfortably close to the 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Valdivia, Chile, the strongest earthquake on record. She described how they were amazed when the first relief plane to land in Chile was from the United States and out of the back of the plane came Jeeps and trucks bringing food, medicine, generators, fuel, a mobile hospital with doctors, machinery, water purifiers, etc.

She graduated high school in Castro on Chiloe island in Chile from Liceo de Ninas de Castro. After high school she received training as an international flight attendant for an airline in Chile. While working as a flight attendant, she lived at times in a number of countries including Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Curacao N.A., Canada, and the U.S. She came to the United States in 1975 and lived in Georgia until moving to Martha’s Vineyard in 1982. Here she worked as a professional cleaner for rental houses and light commercial cleaning.

Mariana is survived by her husband Jonathan Gill, one brother, Sergio Enrique Aguayo Pallamar, one sister, Migna Virginia Aguayo Rojo, and several nieces and nephews, and their children.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 19 at 2:30 p.m. at the Chapman, Cole, and Gleason funeral home in Oak Bluffs, followed by a reception at the Vineyard Playhouse in Vineyard Haven. The family will begin receiving visitors at 1 p.m. An online guestbook is available at ccgfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Mariana A. Gill to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or dana-farber.org/gift.