Leticia D. Villafuerte

It is easy to write about the facts of our mother’s life. Leticia Santos Del Rosario Villafuerte was the beloved daughter of Dr. Pablo and Concordia Del Rosario born on January 19, 1926. She studied Pharmacy at University of the Philippines and was a Pharmacist for many years. She married our father, Antonio Villafuerte Jr., on June 11, 1954. Together, they had 6 children: Joselito, Jose Pablo, Maria Concordia, Jose Reinerio, Maria Consuelo (deceased, born premature), and Maria Liza. While Tatay practiced law, Nanay established a business in Quezon called Farmacia Leticia. When Tatay was appointed municipal judge in Aurora, Quezon in 1957, they lived there with the two kids, Lito and Bing. When the kids were nearing school age, Nanay moved to Quezon City with them. The family started to grow with Ebby, Boyet and Liza. The family then emigrated to Hawaii in 1976 where our mom started work first as a cake decorator at Le Bon’s Bakery and then as a Pharmacy Technician at Kaiser Permanente. This is a position she maintained until her retirement in 1996. She lived a quiet life and loved watching old movies on Turner Classic Movies – especially Shirley Temple ones – and television shows like Matlock and Perry Mason. She went to sleep on Sunday, February 23. It is amazing to hear how many people she talked to that weekend – and how we all said how wonderful, happy, and healthy she seemed. She did not wake up on Monday, February 24. After being rushed to the hospital, she died peacefully and quietly, surrounded by the people that loved her, including her husband of nearly 60 years.

What is more difficult to write about are the things that made our mom who she was. It was not merely the facts that tell the story of this remarkable woman. But how do you write about the effect she had on everyone that came in contact with her? How do you write about the unimaginable depth of loss of the woman that shaped our lives, our hearts, our minds, and our spirits? She was known as Letty to most. To us in her immediate family – she was Nanay: Nanay to all of her children, and Nanay to all of her children’s children. She hated the term Lola – and would jokingly threaten to punch any of her grandchildren who dared to call her that. But when we needed a shoulder to cry on, a level head to consult, or someone to love us, it was just Nanay. She will be remembered for her fantastic cooking. She will be remembered for her infectious laugh. She will be remembered for her ability to love us deeply and unconditionally. She will be remembered for her patience. She will be remembered for her Faith. She will be remembered in her evening repose with her beloved rosary wrapped in her hands.

Nanay was deeply religious and had a servant’s heart. She always put everyone’s needs in front of her own. Except when it came to driving. She learned to drive when she was 60, but would never voluntarily get behind the wheel if there was another driver available. And she never drove without having her rosary with her. She was always the caregiver. It was hard to make her relax – to let us take care of her. To her, service to others was her gift of love – particularly in the form of cooking. She never saw cooking as a chore; it was a way to gift those she loved. She would prepare her visitors their favorite specialties of hers. “Don’t make a fuss” is a phrase with which she wasn’t familiar when it came to seeing to others. When her eldest daughter, Ebby, would visit from San Jose, she would lovingly make enough siopao for an army so that she could eat her fill and still have enough to take home as a reminder of Nanay’s love. The same for her youngest son, Yeye and his wife Frances, who would cart home a large container of Kare Kare even after everyone enjoyed the meal with them. If she knew you liked any dish she made, she would go out of her way to make sure it was available for you. When she lived with her youngest daughter, Liza, for a time while taking care of Liza’s daughter, Olivia, Nanay surprised her with Honey Walnut Prawns. She pretended she did not make any plans for Liza’s birthday and thought that her plan was spoiled when Liza found a stray candied walnut. But she was thoroughly surprised with not only that dish, but a gathering of family Nanay arranged. She never missed an opportunity to show her love through her services: sewing, cooking, and even cleaning up when she came over to any of our homes. She would jokingly say that her failure as a mother is that she did too much for us – and we never learned to do anything for ourselves. The truth is we all inherited her gifts in various ways – and she raised children that know the value of giving of time, talents, and treasures through service to our friends, family, and church.

Any gathering with Nanay meant that there was likely to be storytelling and a lot of laughter. She loved to tell stories – but would often have to be prompted to finish because she would either get distracted by starting a different story or just by laughing too much! We will remember all of her stories of her father and of each of us. She had a lively wit that made it easy to laugh with her. In any family gathering, it was a safe bet that she would be found where the laughter was heard.

Nanay was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago – and her fear was that the disease would render her body useless and that she would become an invalid and a burden to her children. Though none of us would ever consider her a burden, this fear proved unnecessary. Her cancer survivor story was boring; she had it for like 3 weeks. What wasn’t boring was watching her grieve for losing us – it was as if she was trying to mentally prepare herself to say goodbye. But that wasn’t to be for several years. On February 24, she died on her own terms. She died quickly and painlessly. None of us were ready to say goodbye – I do not think we would ever be ready to let her go. It is the way she would have wanted to go – and we are all thankful she didn’t suffer.

Nanay is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, her 5 adult children, her sons- and daughters-in law, 16 grandchildren (Cheri and husband Edward, Anthony and wife Joy, Tina and husband Andre, Mark, Alex, Kristian, Christopher, Jason, Taylor, Jonathan, Sydney, Julian, Ryan, Justin, Olivia, and Evangeline), and 4 great-grandchildren (Kira, Corbin, AJ and one on the way). Our job now is to carry on Nanay’s legacy of a life lived to its fullest: a zest for travel, food, a deep and abiding Faith in God, and an enduring love of family. Nanay – we miss you and look forward to the day we will be reunited in the House of Our Lord.