Necita Plaza Avila

Necita "Cita" Plaza Avila, 84, of Virginia Beach, joined our heavenly father on April 16, 2024, at home surrounded by her loving family and nurse. Cita was born in Surigao, Mindanao, Philippines on December 5, 1939. One of six children, Cita is preceded in death by her parents Porfino S. Plaza and Lucila L. Floria and siblings: Caridad P. Orozco, Pablito Plaza, Stella F. Plaza, Romanila P. Ortojan and Henedina F. Plaza. One of her favorite childhood memories includes seeing butterflies and yellow birds flitting by the stream. She tried to catch them, but her mother would not allow this as butterflies and birds were pets of the fairies and they would get mad if she touched them. These memories would become the source of inspiration throughout her life via her visual and written art. Cita graduated in March 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from St. Paul College of Manila, Philippines. In 1965, she came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through a sponsored nurse program. That same year, she met Artemio “Art” Ruiz Avila. Excited to start a life together, they married in 1966 and grew into a family of six with three daughters and one son. Cita was a dedicated registered nurse for many decades, caring for patients of all ages at hospitals in the Tidewater area including Lake Taylor Community Hospital and Sentara Healthcare, Long-Term Care. As a little girl in the Philippines, she saw a shooting star and made a wish. “My wish was to come to the United States of America. I would own a house with a white picket fence with a rose garden. In this house I would paint; paint to my heart’s content”. All of Cita’s childhood dreams came true. Retirement from nursing allowed Cita to focus on her hobbies of painting, gardening, singing and writing poetry. She enrolled in art classes at Virginia Wesleyan to advance her techniques. She was a member of several choirs: the St. Gregory Catholic Church Contemporary Music Choir, the Filipino Community Choir of St. Gregory Catholic Church and the choir of the Philippine Nurses Association. And she developed her love of poetry writing which the family published along with images of her paintings. Cita had a profound impact on her children, grandchildren, family and friends. We will be grateful forever for having her grace us in our lives. Cita will be greatly missed and is survived by her husband Art of 58 years; her children, Melinda Avila-Torio (Michael), Jennifer Avila Lee (Daniel), Theresa Avila Curtis (Patrick) and Adelbert Plaza Avila (Tammy); grandchildren, Juliana Walker, Evan Walker, Zoë Torio, Jacqueline Curtis, Lucy Avila, Camille Curtis, Sophie Avila, and Cooper Curtis; step-grandchildren, Tyler Lee and Madalyn Lee; sisters-in laws and brothers-in-laws as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews in the United States and the Philippines. A memorial mass will be held at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church on Tuesday, May 14th at 11:00 a.m. followed by a reception to celebrate Cita’s life. For those who wish, memorial donations may be made in Cita’s name to the Alzheimer's Association or Dementia Action Alliance https://daanow.org/.