Lisha Ann Banks

Alisha Ann Banks was born on January 29, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Frank and Mildred Glass, who preceded her in death. She was the third of six children and was preceded in death by her oldest brother, Barry Glass.

Faith was central to Lisha’s life. She accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior at an early age and was baptized at Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church by Reverend Earl Adkins. She also attended Bethel Bible School and was a member of Teens for Christ, where she formed lifelong friendships with Linda Oliver (deceased), Antoinette Kersen, and Vickie Bostic.

Lisha loved creativity and learning. She enjoyed sewing and art, often sketching designs and crafting outfits for herself, her sisters, and friends. She also had a fondness for reading. Lisha graduated from Dobbins Vocational High School in 1968 and went on to earn her B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Illinois, where she met the love of her life, her husband of 52 years, Nathaniel Cecil Banks, affectionately known as “Nate”.

In addition to her greatest work as a mother and homemaker for her husband and three children, Lisha worked at Champaign County Head Start, The Douglass Branch Library, the University of Illinois College of Business, and was the Executive Director at YWCA of the University of Illinois until her retirement. Lisha was a true sports fan at heart, with a special loyalty to her beloved Philadelphia teams. She also coached her sons, Maruwa and Samuel, in youth soccer—a game she hadn’t known much about at first. True to her nature, she read and studied to teach herself the game, learned its strategies, and quickly became an effective and encouraging coach.

She also volunteered for her husband’s school board campaign as well as the national presidential campaign of Barack Husein Obama.

Lisha is survived by her husband Nathaniel; children Frank, Maruwa (Mikka), and Samuel (Jennifer); siblings Janet Newson, Kathleen Dixon (Larry), Francine Mears, and Michael Glass; grandchildren Nathaniel Steven and Elliot Anderson Banks; sister- and brother-in-law Deborah and David Banks; friends Antoinette Kersey and Victoria Bostic-Smith; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who will always remember her love and care. 

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in her name to Lisha’s favorite charity, CU Habitat for Humanity, 1914 Glenn Park Dr, Champaign, IL 6182.1


A public visitation will commence 10:30AM- noon, Saturday, September 27 at Leek & Sons Funeral Home-Urbana. A graveside service will begin at 12:30PM at Mt Hope Cemetery, Urbana.

A life celebration Luncheon will begin at 1:00PM at Bethel AME Church, Champaign.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lisha Ann Banks, please visit our floral store.