Thelma Legaspi Vilela

She is survived by her husband of 45 years Benito Aguila Vilela, Jr., her son Ronald Jason Vilela and daughter Jaimee Vilela Navarrete and their spouses Kristene and Christian, and her grandsons Alex, Chance and Baby Navarrete due in April 2021 and their dog Jackson. She was born on January 20, 1947 to Canuto Legaspi and Fe Licup Legaspi at St. Theresita General Hospital in Manila, Philippines. She grew up in Barangay San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City, Philippines with her older sister Virginia (and her older half siblings Amparo, Ricardo, Romeo and Gloria) who she loved very much. She was so fond of St. Theresita General that she attended nursing school there, graduating in 1967. She emigrated to Chicago as an exchange nursing student in 1968. She later moved to New Jersey to work at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.

She married Ben on June 15, 1975 at the Church of St. Rose of Lima in NYC. On December 26, 1975, she gave birth to her son Ronald Jason. The family, with her sister-in-law Lourdes Vilela Edralin and eventually her own family, moved to Houston in 1977 looking for warmer weather and more opportunity. She later gave birth to her lovely daughter Jaimee on September 10 1978. In Houston, she found a job in the famous Fondren Brown OR at Methodist Hospital, proudly working as the OR nurse of Dr. E. Stanley Crawford. She transitioned to be an OR nurse for one Dr. Crawford's protégés, Dr. Hazim J. Safi, MD. When Dr. Safi became the Chair of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at UT-Houston Medical School/Memorial Hermann Hospital, he chose Thelma as his head nurse to build his internationally recognized program. She has trained a legacy of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons and nurses across the globe. She was passionate about being a nurse, taking leadership positions with the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses and volunteering at Project C.U.R.E.

She was a devout parishioner of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. She loved her family and friends dearly, especially those who helped to take care of her including, but not limited to, her niece Susan Mangulabnan, Eufe Chua, Evelyn Gutierrez, Vicky Tennison, Gloria Navo, Mona Ghazal, Christy Santos, Emy Navo and Tita Partible. She valued her work and her camaraderie with her dear friends and family. And she never forgot where she came from, always staying connected to her siblings in the Philippines.

In memory of Thelma and in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the following charities:

MD Anderson Cancer Center: https://secure3.convio.net/mdacc/site/TR/DIY/General?px=1409753&pg=personal&fr_id=1323

Project C.U.R.E: https://projectcure.org/