Denise Marie (nee Franke) Fili of Sparks, Maryland and formerly of the Canton area in Baltimore, Maryland, passed away on Monday, January 15, 2024, after a lengthy battle with illness.

Born on April 16, 1960, to Shirley (nee Glance) Borek and Robert Borek, she was 63 years old.  Her parents' marriage dissolved shortly after her birth and her mother remarried when Denise was 6 years old, to Robert Charles Franke, Esq., who adopted her.

Denise attended the following schools in Baltimore, Maryland: St. Anthony's School; The Catholic High School, Class of 1978; Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland, BA, Class of 1982; and the University of Maryland, School of Law, JD, Class of 1985.

Upon graduation from Law School  Denise clerked for a judge of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, from August 1985 until August 1986, whereupon she was hired as an Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore City, under Kurt Schmoke, and served for approximately 22 years.  Subsequently, she went to work as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for Maryland, in the Department of Health, where she practiced until the time of her passing.

During her tenure at the State's Attorney's Office Denise rose to the level of Chief of the Felony Trial Division. Her duties at the Office of the Attorney General involved oversight and regulatory accountability of Assisted Living Licensees.

Salvatore "Sal" Fili and Denise met in the fall of 1986 at the City State's Attorney's Office, where they were both employed as Assistant State's Attorneys.  On September 24, 1988, they married, and in September, 1989, they established a home in Sparks, Maryland, where they were blessed with and raised their triplet children, Liana Elizabeth, Joseph Robert, and Michalina Marie, born on October 21, 1992, at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, in Towson, Maryland.

Along with her love of entertaining and travel, Denise had a particular fondness for Ocean City, Maryland, borne of the many family vacations she enjoyed there with her parents while growing up.  She  loved flowers, decorating the house for the holidays, and had a deep abiding fondness for the elderly.  It also gave her tremendous pleasure and fulfillment to mentor young attorneys and watch them develop their skills as litigators.

Denise was the beloved wife of Salvatore "Sal" Fili for 35 years; loving mother of Liana Fili and her husband Nolan Oliver, Joseph Fili and his fiancé Celine Marlin-Andrews and Michalina Fili.

A Memorial Service will be held at Peaceful Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Center, P.A., 2325 York Road, Timonium, Maryland 21093 on Saturday, January 20 beginning at 10 AM. Interment will be private.