Camila Robles

Camila Robles (née Ronquillo) passed away peacefully on the morning of October 11, 2023. Wife of Esteban; loved by her children Susan (Michael Sr.), Luther (Theresa), and Freda; adored by her grandchildren Eric, Steve, Michael Jr., Robbie, Mercedes, and Austen. Camila is remembered by the countless friends and family whose lives she touched here in Canada and back home in the Philippines. Predeceased by her husband of 54 years, her 6 siblings, and her favourite cousin, Felicidad Lagatic Bombase, that she all loved dearly. Camila would like to be remembered as the vibrant, determined, rebel she was known by many of us.

Camila was born in Tigaon, Camarines Sur, Philippines in 1931. She led a modest life, went to school, but her heart and soul were connected to the farm she grew up on. She made the choice to continue a simple, but hard life on the farm. Early mornings and late evenings, herding water buffalo, leading all her animals to graze, fetching water from the local spring; all to help provide for her family. Because of her strong stature, she was the workhorse of the family. A quality she carried for the rest of her life.

In the early 1950’s, she had her sister reply to an advertisement in the personals section of the local paper. The advertisement was about a man who was looking for a pen pal. That pen pal eventually became her one true love. Camila and Esteban eventually met and got married on September 20, 1954. They welcomed their first daughter Susan in 1956, their only son Luther in 1958, and their youngest child Freda in 1959.

Camila and her husband made their living by selling shoes. They opened their first store in Naga City called Robles Shoe Palace and the second a few doors down called RR Shoe Pavilion. While operating this business, she was still taking care of the farm she inherited from her parents. Her success was the community's success. Through the prosperous years she helped countless friends, family, and strangers who were less fortunate.

Due to a devastating fire that tore through the entire block their business was in, they had an opportunity to come to Canada. A hard choice for Camila, she put her own desires on the back burner to provide something better for her children. She arrived in 1974 and experienced a hard and arduous life. She spent her entire professional career in health care, but her entire personal career that she never retired from was in grandmothering.

Camila loved her grandchildren, full stop. She was very involved in their lives and would babysit them, cook for them, clean them, and be on pick up/drop off duty. She did so even more when she retired from health care in 1994.

The joys of her life kept Camila going. She loved going to the Hastings Racecourse to bet on horses, was thrilled by the lights and sounds that slot machines made in the casino, and enjoyed killing time completing word searches from the Province Newspaper while having her coffee and blueberry muffin. While she didn’t have animals to care for while she was in Canada, she cared for a jungle in her home. A natural green thumb, she brought life to every plant.

In 2008, the love of her life passed away and it shook Camila to her core. The pain from this loss never eased until her dementia started to cloud her memory. While the disease was taking away her memories, the one thing that remained steadfast and certain until her final breath was her unrelenting faith in God. We will forever remember the memories she left us and take solace that she's back with Papa again.

We are thankful to the team of people who worked tirelessly for Camila in the seven years she was at Renfrew Care Centre. You saw her more than any of us, and were her family.

A visitation for Camila will be held Tuesday, October 17, 2023 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Ocean View Funeral Home, 4000 Imperial Street, Burnaby, BC V5J1A4. A funeral service will occur Wednesday, October 18, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Our Lady of Assumption, 3141 Shaughnessy Street, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 4L2."