Ernesto E. Dela Cruz

1948 – 2022

Beloved brother, husband, father and grandfather Ernesto Eligido Dela Cruz passed away from cardiac arrest on August 15, 2022 in San Diego, CA. He was 73.

Ernesto was born in the Philippines to Teodoro and Celestina, and is the eldest of five siblings. He attended Tapinac Elementary and Jackson High schools in Olongapo City. In 1968, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and joined fellow sailors in Vietnam during the war, earning medals such as the Gallantry Cross, National Defense Service, and Gold and Bronze stars for his valor during the conflict. After his time in Vietnam, he traveled to Los Angeles to attend a friend’s wedding and met his soon-to-be wife, Ester. They married in Las Vegas, had their daughter and moved to Long Beach, then San Diego, where they had their son. He served in several ships: USS Duluth, USS Horne, USS Carpenter, USS Peoria, among others, as the family moved around California and then to the center of Oahu, Hawaii before settling and living the good life in San Diego. He loved gardening, going to the movies, watching The Filipino Channel, drinking coffee, going to the beach, and going on walks with his missus near the shore almost every day. He also loved to fish and go crabbing, and would take his young family to the bay and the piers wherever they lived, and spent all day trying to catch good ones to take home. His love of food and cooking inspired creativity, often experimenting at home with different ingredients he learned on the job as a Navy mess specialist, including making a roasted, stuffed capon (young rooster) instead of a turkey one Thanksgiving. While stationed in San Diego, he came in first place in a cake decorating and baking competition.

Petty Officer First Class Ernesto retired after 20 years in the Navy, but then went to work again as a senior cook and supervisor at various San Diego County correctional facilities such as Otay Mesa Detention Center. While there, he became a member of the county employees association and produced meals for the San Diego chapter of Meals on Wheels, retiring after another 20 years to join his dear wife in yearly trips to the Philippines and frequently traveling to see his grandchildren.

Ernesto is preceded in death by his mother, father, and his brother, Ramon. Married to Ester for over 50 years, he is survived by daughter Mary Jennifer, son Theodore and his wife Melissa, as well as his grandchildren Sydney, Lucie and Penelope.

The vigil service will be held on September 15, 2022, 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Funeraria del Angel (in 607 National City Blvd., National City, CA). The funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am on September 16, 2022 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church (426 E. 7th St., National City, CA). The burial ceremony will be held 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm at Miramar National Cemetery (5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego, CA).

Donations to their longtime parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, The Padre Pio Foundation of America and Disabled American Veterans can be made in the name of Ernesto Dela Cruz in lieu of flowers.