Beatriz "Betty" Agne Lunasco

Born and raised in a humble village in Bantog, Asingan, Pangasinan, a northern province of the Philippines, Beatriz Agne Lunasco was the daughter of Marcelino Agne and Feliza Grospe. Her father was a teacher at Ariston-Bantog Elementary School. Beatriz, or Betty as she is fondly called, is the third child of Marcelino and Feliza Agne. She has an identical twin sister - Altagracia. Her elder brothers are Claudio and Audelio (deceased) and her youngest brother is Geraldo (deceased). Her childhood was mainly spent in the quiet pastoral village of Bantog. She received her primary education in the same school her father worked and taught math. After graduating from Jose Rizal High School in 1956, she left her beloved Bantog to attend one of the top schools in the Philippines - The University of Santo Tomas. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology in 1960. Betty came to Chicago, Illinois in 1966. It would take another 4 years of college to be a pharmacist in the United States. A friend in Chicago suggested being a pharmacy or lab tech. They helped her to get started in her training as a lab tech through a program at St Anthony Hospital in Chicago. She worked there for some time after completing her training. On a Greyhound Bus to meet some friends in Cincinnati, Ohio, she met a man by the name of Juanito Lunasco, Johnny for short. Johnny was an enlisted serviceman in the United States Navy. It turned out they were going to the same place. A few months later, on October 18,1969, they were married at the Holy Trinity Church in Chicago, Illinois. One of the benefits of being married to a serviceman in the military, is the many places Betty visited during deployments. In 1970 Johnny was stationed in Key West, Florida. On August 22, 1970, they welcomed their first child, a daughter by the name of Rachel Agne Lunasco. Then 15 months later, on November 29, 1971, a son was born and was named John Agne Lunasco. Soon the family of four would travel across the United States as all military families experience. Betty and her family visited many states during her husband’s Navy career. These states included Florida, Tennessee, Texas, California and Hawaii. Johnny also had an international deployment to the Philippines. While Johnny finished his last 4 years of deployment in Hawaii, he sent his family to settle down in Ontario, California. Betty needed to find employment immediately. She found a job working for the Mervyn’s Distribution Center, and worked there for a total of 10 years. Although she enjoyed her job at Mervyn’s, Betty missed working as a lab tech. An opportunity to work for the Veteran's Hospital in Loma Linda had opened up and Betty was able to get back to the career she most enjoyed. After 7 years she finally retired in 2000. Betty’s children are both married to loving spouses. Her son John married Charlene on February 4, 1995 in Victorville, California. They have 3 children: Jeremy Matthew, Chelsea Marie and Jordan Jonathan. Her daughter Rachel married Arthur Santos on October 25, 1997 in San Diego, California. They have 2 children: Arthur Jonathan and Raelyn Grace. She LOVED her grandkids very much! Babysitting was a special treat for her. As with all grandmothers, spoiling her grandkids was what she did best! They especially enjoyed her cooking - her breakfast fried rice was her specialty. Betty’s infinite kindness and unconditional love is what they will miss most about their grandma. Betty is survived by her husband Juanito, 2 children, Rachel in San Diego and John in Apple Valley, brother Claude in Chicago, twin sister Alta in Chino, 5 grandchildren and 20 nieces and nephews. She will always live forever in our hearts!