Lillian Mobley, South L.A. activist, dies at 81

Lillian Mobley, a South Los Angeles activist who worked to keep Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center operating, died Monday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, said her son Kenneth. She was 81.

A Georgia native who moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s, Mobley served her community by advocating for better transportation, education, healthcare and other public services.

"Something I enjoy is fighting for the rights of others," she told The Times in 1977.

Besides her son Kenneth, Mobley's survivors include her husband, James, sons Phillip and Charles, 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. A daughter, Corene Mobley Bowie, preceded her in death.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. July 29 at Ward AME Church, 1177 25th St., Los Angeles.

Condolence may be sent to 1111 W. 51st. St., Los Angeles, CA 90037.

A full obituary will follow at latimes.com/obituaries and in the Thursday print edition of The Times.

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-- Claire Noland

Photo: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa greets Lillian Mobley after a news conference in 2008. Credit: Associated Press