Thelma M. Sablan

Thelma M. Sablan was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Thelma was born on October 11, 1950 at Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning, Guam. Her parents were Jose and Francisca. Thelma was raised in Mangilao, Guam. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Growing up in the Sablan household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Thelma was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Thelma was raised with thirteen siblings. Thelma was constantly involved in activities with her brothers and sisters. Thelma and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Thelma was always consistently loyal to her family.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Thelma as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite classes in high school were Science and Home Economics. Thelma was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Thelma always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Thelma was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Thelma was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Thelma to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. Later in life, she became friends with Cathy Sablan.

Compassionate and devoted to Vicente, Thelma held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Vicente and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

Thelma brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Thelma was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Thelma was blessed with 4 children, one son Vincent and three daughters Samantha, Annamarie and Michele. They were also blessed with 6 grandchildren, Brandon, Shawnee, Shantal, Deriek, Brittany, Gerald and Edwin.

Thelma greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Thelma enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Thelma was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was as a Housekeeping Supervisor. She was employed for 10 years by The Hilton Hotel. Thelma worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Thelma liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Thelma always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuits was spending time in the kitchen cooking for her family. Thelma was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

Thelma enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Thelma appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Thelma always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included going to California and Reno.

Thelma was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Thelma loved her dogs Pua, Kipper, Sheba, Snoopy and Sparky as well as her cats. They were best friends for 10 years.

When Thelma’s retirement finally arrived in 2005, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Even in retirement, Thelma continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances.

Thelma fought a brave battle against cancer for a year and a half. Services were held at Palm Northwest Mortuary. Thelma was laid to rest in Palm Northwest Cemetery.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Thelma M. Sablan. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.