Maria Nora Sangalang

Maria Nora Sangalang ~ December 20, 1930 to April 27, 2025

Maria Nora Sangalang of Halifax, Nova Scotia, known to all as Nora, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2025, in the compassionate care of the Admiral Long Term Care Facility. Born in the city of Calapan in the Philippines, Nora was the second oldest daughter of the ten children of Jose and Constancia Sangalang.

Trained as a teacher, Nora moved to Halifax in 1968 where she began a teaching career that spanned more than 35 years she first taught at the Sir Frederick Fraser School for the Blind, then St Agnes School, and finally Chebucto Heights Elementary where she spent most of her career teaching grades 3 to 5. She shaped the lives of hundreds of children, all of whom never forgot their strict but caring and quirky Miss Sangalang.

A devoted sister and aunt (“Tita”), Nora split her time living with family in Halifax, Ventura (California), and Toronto. She was a particularly special and ever-present Tita to her nieces and nephews in the West, Henri and Tracy Sangalang (Mageau), Maria Salas (Bixler), Joy Nishikawa, and Edna Cuvin, and was an equally loving Tita to all her many other nieces and nephews in the Philippines, Australia, Singapore and beyond. In more recent years, she became a loving “Lola Nora” to her many grandnieces and grandnephews.

At home in Halifax, Nora was a pillar of the original Filipino immigrant community that arrived in the 1960s. She was a community leader and teacher, a beloved friend to all, a caring “Tita Nora” to all the children, and a Ninang (Godmother) to the children of her dear friends.

Nora loved to travel the world and enjoyed many globe-trotting adventures with her favourite travel companions, the organizer, her late brother-in-law Eufronio Salas, her sisters Aurora and Fe, and her niece Maria. Their travels across Europe, Israel, Egypt, Japan, and of course home to the Philippines were among her most memorable.

Nora had just as much fun at home in her daily life. She loved spending time with her many friends and co-teachers – cooking, eating, and telling stories. She always wanted to be up on the “latest news.” She was an avid reader and a talented crafter who made beautiful macrame and origami creations.

Nora was loved and adored by everyone for her quick wit and sense of humour, her gregarious personality, and most of all her kind and generous nature. She devoted so much of her life to looking after others. And she was a legendary cook, most famous for her Filipino lumpia and siopao, which she supplied to every party and gathering.

Nora is survived by her siblings Dr. Virgilio Sangalang and sister-in-law Gloria Sangalang, Aurora Salas, Caridad Nishikawa, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her beloved siblings Rogelio Sangalang, Luz LaFleur, Lydia Lacsamana, Esperanza, Fe Sangalang, and her nephew Henri Sangalang.

A devoted parishioner of St Agnes church for more than 50 years, Nora was a person of deep faith and was guided in life by her unfailing belief in God the Father and the Saviour Lord Jesus Christ. She believed in the Kingdom of Heaven where she now rests in eternal peace.

A funeral mass and reception will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 10:30am at St Agnes Church (of the Good Shepherd Parish) at 6903 Mumford Rd in Halifax. All are welcome.