Corazon Wy Pabustan

She was widowed by her husband of 35years Norberto R Pabustan.

Affectionately known as "Cora" to her friends and co-workers in Malacañang, Office of the President in Philippines, where she worked as an Accountant.

A Baptized Catholic and was an active member of "Christ The King Parish Church" in Quezon City, Philippines and was a Parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes, and Saint Philomena Catholic Church in Chicago.

She and her husband raised all their children following the teachings of Christ as our Savior.

Lovingly remembered by her children: Honorio (his wife Norma), Wilna(deceased), Raymund (his wife Norma A). Teresita, (her husband Michael) Cynthia, (her husband Glenn) Zenaida, and Emmanuel(deceased).

She was called as " Lola" by her Grandchildren.

Bryan, Hannah, April, Cecilia, Lourdes, Katherine, Arvin, (his wife Nancy) and Ashley (her husband Jordan) Alex and Pearl (Emmanuel's Daughter)

She was a cherished great grandmother to Ethan and to so many to mention.

She was known as "Ate Cora" to her siblings. Jose(deceased) Flordeliza, Reynaldo and Violeta(deceased).

She will be missed by so many of her friends, nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held at Malec & Sons Funeral Home, located at 6000 North Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL, 60646, on January 23, 2026, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. A catholic mass will follow at the same venue on January 23, 2026, starting at 7:00 pm.

Interment will be with Family members.

Eulogy:

Good evening, everyone!

For some of you who don’t know me, my name is Zenaida; I am the youngest daughter of

Corazon. If my mom is alive, she will tell you I am her “Bunso”, which means youngest or

baby in our language.

Tonight, we gather with heavy hearts, but also with deep gratitude, to honor and remember

my mother.

She was a remarkable woman who faced life challenges with grace.

My mama exemplified strength, patience, and kindness, and demonstrated an exceptional

capacity for selflessness.

She loved quietly, not very expressive of her feelings, but often putting the needs of others

before her own.

She taught us lessons that didn’t always come from words. She taught us through her

actions – through her resilience in di􀆯icult times, her compassion for others and her ability

to find grace even when life was not easy.

You might or may not know that “CORAZON” is the Spanish word for “HEART.” What a

perfect name.

She lived an exceptionally long blessed life and fought all life challenges that come her way.

The journeys and challenges that she faced showed how strong woman she was. It was she

who taught me how to be tough, how to stand on my own, lived in this world not dependent

on anyone.

Mama always tries to give advice, but because I was stubborn when I was younger, I never

listened. But there is one piece of advice she gave me that stuck on me, she told me,

“Don’t chase any man in your life”. You are worth more than you think you are. Stay Strong

and you’ll be fine.

She was extraordinarily strong woman. She lost my dad when she was 52, she survived 44

years without him. She survived all sicknesses, Covid, RSV and more. She was in Hospice 3

times and graduated. So, I did not expect to see her where we are tonight, I still thought she

would pull through. But GOD called her and it is time.

Mama, I will miss you more than words can express, I find comfort in knowing that you are

now with our LORD Savior JESUS CHRIST.

Thank you, Mama for your strength, life lessons and for making me who I am today.

May the LORD BLESS YOU, Keep you and Grant you ETERNAL LIFE.

Until we meet again…. I LOVE YOU and I WILL MISS YOU.

Eulogy:

Hi everyone, thank you all for coming today. Most of you knew Corazon as "Tita." Some knew her as "Ate." To some, she was "Mama," and to others, the "sweet little lady." But I knew her as Lola.

One of my earliest memories of Lola was when I was about four years old. At the time, we were living in an apartment on Foster with my Tita Tess and Arvin. Like usual, I wanted to follow Arvin everywhere he went. One day, he went outside to play with the neighbor kid, and of course, I wanted to play too.

As I ran toward the door, Lola stopped me and said,

"Ashley, where are you going?"

Outside to play with Arvin, Lola," | saic she replied, "Don't go out there. You will get hurt."

So naturally, I went outside.

We were playing baseball with a wiffle ball when-boom-Arvin hit the ball, and I caught it... with my face. It hurt so badly that I ran inside crying to my Lola. She asked, "What happened?" Through tears, I told her, "The ball hit me in the face." And she replied, "Oh see, I told you-don't go outside."

From a very early age, I learned two things: my actions have consequences, and | should listen to my Lola.

I spent a lot of my early childhood with her, usually after school or during the summer, and I loved being there. Lola would make me fried rice and let me eat all her butter cookies—you know, the ones in the blue can. We watched Arthur and General Hospital together, usually with a Coke nearby—because Lola always had a Coke. We'd go to Marshall Field's with Tita Violy, or if it was too hot, she'd generously give me the styrofoam from her meat packages and let me use all her tape to make boats for my Lego people. Whatever we were doing, I was just happy to be with her.

At the end of every day, when my mom picked me up after work, Lola would always say,

"Listen to your mama," and "BE GOOD."

And that stuck with me.

Did I always listen to my mom? No.

Was I always good? Absolutely not.

But to this day, I still hear Lola's voice in the back of my head, and I often find myself thinking how lucky I am to have had her.

As most of you know, Lola was tough-and it showed in the way she loved, especially the girls.

She had a way of making you feel deeply cared for, but in the most honest and no-nonsense

way. I think she knew the world was tough, so she needed to make you tough too. She'd be the first to tell you if you were looking a little fatter or if she disapproved of something you did. And if you really knew Lola, you know there was almost always a Coke within arm's reach-or stashed away in a hidden drawer at the nursing home to give to her visitors.

Her tough love paid off. She raised 7 children and multiple grandchildren, especially four tough girls— and one very tough, very stubborn granddaughter. And I see her in them. And I see her in myself.

As I got older, Lola's tough love taught me to take criticism lightly. I also realized that she didn't really teach by giving advice-she taught by how she lived. Her voice never went away. Even when she didn't realize she was teaching me, I was always learning from her. I learned generosity by watching her give gifts to everyone-including her doctor, the mailman, anyone she appreciated. I grew in my faith by watching her pray the rosary every single day and talk to Jesus about her problems. I learned loyalty when she said she never remarried because she already had a husband. And by watching her live to 96, I learned that life is hard-but giving up is never an option.

I don't know if everyone knows this, but in the last few years, Lola beat hospice three times, COVID twice, RSV, norovirus, and even outlived the life expectancy of her pacemaker. If that doesn't show you how tough she was, I don't know what will. People often ask what her secret to living such a long life was. I think it was Coke-but don't tell RFK Jr.

So thank you, Lola, for everything for raising me, for always thinking about me, for loving me, and most importantly, for all the life lessons you taught me. I promise to listen to my mama, to try to be good, and to make sure you live on through everything you taught me.

Thank you all again for coming and I hope you all grab a coke before you leave, because I know Lola would want you to have one.