Maria Aurora "Monette", "Bella" Inigo Arribas MD

Maria Aurora Inigo Arribas, MD, age 80, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 1st, 2023. She is survived by her 3 children: Janet of New York, NY, James and wife June of Cumberland, RI, and Jason and wife Stephanie of Lee’s Summit, MO. She has 8 grandchildren. She is also survived by brother Dominador Inigo of Tannersville, PA, brother Jorge Inigo of Pila, Laguna, Philippines and sister Madeleine Dimaano of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Arribas was born on April 20th, 1942 in Gumaca, Quezon Province, Philippines to Dominador Rivera Inigo and Magdalena Andojar Elloso. She grew up in Caloocan City, Philippines and graduated from Far Eastern University Institute of Medicine in 1967. She married Romeo Arribas on February 22nd, 1969, moved to the United States and completed her medical residency training in Kansas City, MO. She practiced medicine in the Kansas City area until 1994, and then in western Kansas until 2012 when she retired and returned to live in the Kansas City area in Olathe, KS.

Throughout her life, Dr. Arribas was dedicated to serving others. She was well loved as a physician practicing family medicine by her peers and patients thanks to her compassionate and caring disposition. Known as Monette and Bella among her friends and family, she was active in the Filipino community, participating in the Filipino Association’s Sampaguita Choir, partaking regularly in Association events and supporting the Association financially. She also participated in the Philippine Medical Society/Philippine Nurses Association of Kansas City’s annual medical mission to the Philippines in 2018, 2019 and 2020. She was loved by many in the Filipino community thanks to these efforts.

She was a devout Catholic as well, attending church daily and participating in mass as a Eucharistic minister regularly. She was well known at her parish of St. Paul Catholic Church in Olathe for her generosity and love of the church.

Dr. Arribas will have a vigil at McGilley State Line Chapel on February 6th, 2023 from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM with a Rosary prayer preceding at 6:00 PM. Funeral/Memorial Mass will be held at St. Paul Catholic Church in Olathe, KS on April 21st, 2023 at 10:00 AM. She will be interred with her late husband at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Lenexa, KS. In lieu of flowers, her family would like to request donations to the Filipino Cultural Center Foundation of Kansas City, MO.

Dr. Arribas will be remembered as a kind and generous person who lived a life dedicated to helping others. Her family, friends, patients, and the Filipino community will miss her dearly, but her legacy of service and compassion will live on in the lives she touched. Rest in peace, Aurora.