Maria Quintana Bayani

BAYANI, Dr. Maria “Mary” Quintana passed away peacefully on the morning of March 31, 2020 at her home in Sacramento, CA in the presence of her loving family. Her surprisingly quick departure from this world came days after a PET scan revealed that she had metastatic stage IV lung cancer. Although her sudden physical and mental deterioration came on very quickly, she persevered till the very end, smiling, singing, and fighting till she could no longer. She went out on her own terms as she did everything in her life. For years, her children and doctors have tried to convince her to accept that she’s older and that aches and pains were part of her current reality, but she refused to accept it with fury. Sadly, we knew something had changed in the weeks prior to her death when she started to accept her fate that she was nearing the end, often saying in the last few days “Ganyan ang buhay” or ‘that is life.’ She said on numerous occasions that she was “going home” and thanked those around her for watching after her which was unusual for her. The pillar of strength that she was, gave way to a harder side that she lived her life by, but in the days leading up to her death, she exposed a vulnerability and graciousness to those around her that was so surprising and so endearing that it brought many to tears. She will truly be missed.

She had many interests. Her favorite past time was gardening. Up until January 2020, she was spending hours, daily, in her garden, watering, replanting, pruning and taking photos of her flowers. In her down time, she prayed and loved playing CandyCrush and WordCookies on her iPad. Her afternoons were filled with her teleseries shows on TFC. Lastly, she enjoyed spending time traveling to Catanduanes and Manila visiting her siblings, family, and friends reminiscing about days past. She was so strong in 2019 that she traveled solo to the Philippines for a quick vacation.

Mary was born in Panganiban, Catanduanes, Philippines, on May 20, 1930, to Mariano Segismundo Quintana and Trinidad Cabrera Quintana. She lived a privileged upbringing in Payo as the 3rd oldest of eight children. She graduated from Catanduanes High and often recounted her status as Valedictorian to anyone who would listen. She prided herself on her academic achievements, most notably, her Degree in Medicine from the University of Santo Tomas in 1958. She practiced medicine for over 16 years as a general practitioner before immigrating to the United States in 1974 with her husband, Atty. Gelacio Bayani, and seven sons. They lived in Los Angeles until moving to Sacramento in 1983.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gelacio, sons, Rene and Gem, and brothers, Jaime, Francisco, and Pompeyo. She is survived by her siblings, Dionisia, Lilia, Cristina, and Renato, her sons, Emmanuel (Cristy), Romy (Baby), Albert, Eric, and Ron (Lisa), as well as, her numerous beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.