Philomena Hong Giok Abrescy

Philomena (Lee) Hong Giok Abrescy was born on November 1, 1955 in Singapore to Stephen Lee Jin Soon and Bertha Ang Siok Kam, and passed away on June 7, 2024 in Merced, CA at the age of 68. In 1975, she immigrated to the United States alongside her parents and 5 siblings, settling in Atwater, CA. She would go on to obtain her associate degree from Merced College and would meet her husband, Glenn Cannonigo Abrescy, while training at a martial arts program in Atwater. They eloped in South Lake Tahoe, CA on August 30, 1986, and after riding off into the Sunset (District in San Francisco), she would come full circle back to Atwater in 1992.

Philomena and Glenn established the Eastwind Martial Arts Academy, on December 1, 1988, in downtown Merced; she ran the operations, he ran the classes. After serving generations of families for over 3 decades, she retired in 2019 as the business relaunched as Cen Cal Abrescy Academy. In recent years, she prioritized her health, filled the camera roll with her grandchildren, and invested in her love for cooking, gardening and occasionally her favorite pastime of playing slot machines.

She was known for her quiet, reserved nature, living a modest life; always willing to enjoy a cup of tea, but more so preferring to spill it. She achieved the “American Dream”; an immigrant from the ’70s who became a successful small businesswoman, founding a minority-owned, family-operated establishment that’s still kicking to this day.

Philomena was preceded in death by her parents Stephen and Bertha, her brother Joseph, and her husband Glenn who passed away in 2019. She is survived by her son, Christopher Abrescy of Merced; her 3 grandchildren, Carter, Kora and Calvin; her brothers, Anthony Lee of Merced, Gerard Lee of Texas and Vincent Lee of Colorado; her sister Christina Murphy (Tom) of Cressey; her beloved nieces and nephews for whom she played an influential role as “Auntie Phil” in their upbringing, Sean, Duffy, Samantha, Regan, Maddi and Danny; and thousands of families she welcomed over the years through her downtown dojo doors.

On Saturday, June 22, 2024 a Rosary will be held at 8:30 a.m. followed by a Mass at 9:00 a.m. at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 671 E. Yosemite Avenue, Merced, CA. Philomena will be eternally laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery, 260 W. Childs Avenue, Merced, CA with a reception to follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Cen Cal Abrescy Academy, 1635 G. Street, Merced, CA. All celebrations of Philomena’s life are open to the public.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Abrescy Family Scholarship Fund, established to support UC Merced students: https://engage.ucmerced.edu/abrescy

Arrangements are under the direction of Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home, 1490 B Street, Merced, CA.