Nicetas G. Gatdula

Mrs. Nicetas Gomez Gatdula was born on June 30, 1919 and raised in Maapas, Batangas City, Philippines. She was the second of ten children born to Melanio Gomez and Benigna Panganiban who were both hard-working farmers. Nacing, as she was fondly called by her family and friends, grew up with three brothers and six sisters. Her brothers were Godofredo, Felicisimo and Hilarion, and her sisters were Cristina, Natividad, Paciencia, Lolita , Lilia and Zenaida. While growing up, the family was surrounded by numerous loving relatives, including two doting uncles, one of whom was a Catholic priest and the other, a school teacher.

Like many men and women of her generation, but unlike many of her younger siblings who went to college, Nacing did not have the opportunity of a higher education. Growing up, she toiled on the farm alongside her parents and only attended school when farming was off season. In spite of her limited schooling, Nacing learned to speak English quite well, and showed the many sides of a quiet and confident intelligence that her children and later her grandchildren and great-grandchildren so admired.

In 1941, at the age of 22, Nacing married Luis Gatdula, a young soldier in the Philippine Army. They were blessed with nine children, four sons and five daughters. They named their sons Pedro, Efren, Romeo and Danilo, and their daughters Elena, Norma, Belen, Sonia and Olivia.

Nacing would endure personal tragedies in her lifetime. She lost her husband in 1967 and then her oldest son, Pedro, in 1971, with both deaths occurring while father and son were on active military duty. The soft-spoken but strong-willed mother became a father as well. It was a blessing that her parents and her siblings’ families formed a nurturing and supportive village around her as she continued to raise her children and her two grandchildren (Pedro’s children) and struggled to give them a college education. She would eventually lose both parents to old age and daughter Belen to illness.

At age 60, Nacing immigrated to San Diego, California and lived with daughter Elena’s family. Although she felt homesick and sorely missed the family members she left behind in the Philippines, she adapted to the so-called American way of life and never regretted leaving the life she once knew.

Years went by, and her other children and two grandchildren were able to immigrate to America as well. Each of them was successful in their chosen career path, and one by one, they married and started their own families. Nacing, now living with daughter Sonia, felt her life was complete, surrounded once again by her family that continued to grow over the years. She was further blessed with eighteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. It was fitting that family often gathered to celebrate her birthdays and many other special occasions at Sonia’s home.

Nacing enjoyed good health for many years, and she traveled the United States with her children and grandchildren as she pleased. She witnessed countless snowfalls and played on the snowy grounds of Newport, Rhode Island. Like an innocent child, she viewed the mighty Grand Canyon with awe and wonder. She also rode to the top of the Empire State Building and enjoyed the sweeping views of the New York skyline. She was grateful to have visited the World Trade Center, both at its grandeur and after 9/11. She crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and delighted in the San Francisco subway train and cable car rides. She even went on a trip or two to Las Vegas, where she couldn’t bear to lose a nickel at the slots! She beamed with pride on the day she became a U.S. citizen. And yes, she went on Balikbayan trips back home to her cherished Philippines to visit and reminisce with her siblings’ families.

As Nacing advanced in age, she became frail and it became a challenge for her to travel with family. She took comfort in going to church and when that, too, became difficult, she was content praying the daily rosary at home.

A simple woman, a simple mother and grandmother, a simple yet fulfilled life devoted to God and her family…. This was the essence of Nacing’s whole being. In the beginning, she was the mother who lovingly raised and guided her family; in her later years, she became her family’s child, comforted and loved until her last breath.

At age 92, Nacing passed on to eternal life on December 26, 2011, surrounded by all her loved ones. A deeply devout Christian, she was completely at peace as she started her new journey to follow the Lord.