Iluminada Genobaten Espinas was blessed with an abundance of leadership qualities. It would be accurate to say that this woman was an outstanding luminary and that her natural abilities served her well. She knew with certainty how she wanted to set priorities in all aspects of her life. She struck those who knew her as the kind of person who awoke in the morning with a clear sense of exactly what she expected from her day and how to set about accomplishing those goals. Iluminada was a woman who definitely liked order and was most comfortable with an organized and structured lifestyle. When this climate was absent, Iluminada would set about immediately to create it.
Iluminada was born on May 13, 1948 at home in Muntay, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Her parents were Juan Genobaten and Alfreda Genobaten. Iluminada was raised in Muntay, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Iluminada was brought up to be reasonable in her actions and was taught to use her intellect wisely. She was an honest and straightforward child, traits that reinforced her self-confidence. Even at a young age, Iluminada was credited with having a positive influence on those around her.
The positive atmosphere that Iluminada generated spread to her family. Iluminada was raised with five siblings. She had four brothers, Samuel, Joselito, Rodrigo, and Emmanuel, and one sister, Adoracion. Iluminada served as a catalyst within the family. She often found herself in the role of providing fair solutions to those sibling disputes. In every family activity, Iluminada was able to demonstrate her uncommon logic and skill at building compromise.
When it came to academics and school, Iluminada's organizational skills reaped dividends. Iluminada was able to create a system for getting her classwork done in a proper and timely manner. With a strong ability to analyze her schoolwork and assignments, she could apply a practical, common sense approach completing her studies. She showed a natural curiosity in the manner in which she tackled new types of problems and would regularly challenge her own reasoning ability in finding solutions. She graduated from Holy Cross High School in 1965.
The work habits and approaches to studying that Iluminada utilized in high school also served her well in college. Iluminada always seemed on a quest for knowledge. She was able to generalize, summarize and compile information for her classes, employing a matter-of-fact approach. Iluminada was intuitive and mentally alert, seemed to crave the challenge of solving complex problems. She earned her degree as a Registered Nurse in 1969 and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1973.
In a group of friends and acquaintances, Iluminada was typically the first person to take the initiative to go up and greet someone new. That quality made her very approachable by others throughout her life. This same quality brought Iluminada the reward of many friends. Maintaining loyalty to those friends was a trait that came naturally to Iluminada. She believed that she should treat others in a fair manner, in the same way she wanted to be treated. Iluminada also showed a great deal of appreciation for the accomplishments of her friends. While growing up, her best friend was Liling Somontan.
As Iluminada knew in other aspects of her life, she had a clear vision of what she sought in a relationship and worked hard to achieve it. On October 10, 1970, Iluminada exchanged wedding vows with Bienvenido Tagaloguin Espinas at Holy Cross Parish Church of Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Bienvenido was a significant part of her life, and it wasn’t necessary for Iluminada to be overly sentimental or expressive about it for others to be aware of their mutual devotion. Iluminada's secret to success was that she always kept the lines of communication open in the marriage and applied the important skill of being a good listener.
Family and her son were important to Iluminada, even if she didn’t always show it. Iluminada was blessed with one child, Greco. They were also blessed with one grandchild, Aaron. Iluminada was able to keep order in the family by using the same efficient and straightforward methods with the family as she did at work. Iluminada rarely made a scene when it came to discipline. Instead, she was subtle and patient in her dealings when teaching her son and Grandson right from wrong.
At work, Iluminada was viewed as a natural leader. She could marshal all of the available resources, including personnel and materials, in order to meet virtually any objective. She was great at developing strategies and made maximum progress with little wasted effort. Iluminada was also adept at uncovering new and more efficient ways of getting things done. She was able to establish and meet objectives and schedules through long-range planning and was always able to keep the big picture clearly in sight. Although Iluminada might have been described by some as an overachiever, she was without question a dedicated and diligent employee. Her primary occupation was Registered Nurse. In 1969 she was employed as a nurse at Finlay Milling and Timber Company for a short time in Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. She then became a nurse teacher at Misamis University for a while and then as a nurse and midwifery teacher at Faith Hospital both in Ozamiz City, Philippines for years. In search of better opportunities, she went to the Middle East in 1985 and worked as a nurse at King Fahad General Hospital in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. In 1989, in hopes of working as a nurse and living comfortably with her family, she decided to migrate together with her husband to the United States. At first, they stayed in Chicago, Illinois, and after a year, she and her husband moved to New Jersey where she worked at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank as a nurse for 16 years. Finally, in 2007, she and her family left the state of New Jersey for Nevada to experience a different kind of scenery. She got employed as a nurse at Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas until she retired.
Not only did Iluminada find pleasure in pursuing her various hobbies, she also enjoyed the discovery and research involved in learning about them. Her skill at problem-solving had a positive influence on these activities as well. Her favorite pursuit was Stamp Collecting. She was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed following her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were Basketball.
Iluminada lived her life guided by a well-defined set of beliefs. Her faith and religion were important aspects of those beliefs. During that time, she was the President of the "Our Lady Of Guadalupe" Ministry in Las Vegas, Nevada which she founded in 2007.
Traveling, especially vacations, was another way for Iluminada to apply her exceptional leadership and organizational skills. She liked exploring different places but also enjoyed designing and scheduling the trips in advance. She had real talent for developing the perfect itineraries. Her Favorite vacations included The Philippines; Foggia, Italy; and Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Iluminada was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Iluminada's favorites was Gently, a mutt dog of Shih Tzu and Poodle. They were best friends for 11 Years. Her family was rounded out by another dog, Gordy, Gently's brother.
When Iluminada's retirement finally came in 2018, she was well prepared. She had worked out all of the details well in advance and knew exactly what she was going to do in Las Vegas, Nevada. In retirement, she found new pleasure in staying active in her religious ministry the "Our Lady Of Guadalupe" Ministry. Always a well-informed person, Iluminada enjoyed adding to her wealth of knowledge. Retirement afforded her the time to enjoy that experience and provided one more opportunity to look ahead at what life might offer her.
Iluminada passed away on January 14, 2023 at Spring Valley Hospital Las Vegas, Nevada. She is survived by her husband Bienvenido, her son Greco, her grandson Aaron, and her daughter-in-law Laarnie. Services are going to be held at Palm Southwest Mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Iluminada Genobaten Espinas knew what she wanted from life and never hesitated in going after it. She could be characterized as a driven individual, someone who understood the importance of achievement. Iluminada was decisive and outspoken at times but was also positive and upbeat about most things. She was a leader, both intentionally and sometimes by default. If she saw that something needed to be done, she was always ready to step up and actualize, organize and implement a plan.
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