Mercedes Ditas Chuidian Gancayco Raquel

Mercedes Chuidian Gancayco Raquel was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Her parents were Telesforo and Dolores Chuidian. Mercedes was born in Manila, and was raised partly in Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Growing up in the Raquel household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Mercedes was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Mercedes was raised with five siblings named, Johnny, Antonio, Jose Luis, Pacita and Remedios. Mercedes was constantly involved in activities with her brothers and sisters. Mercedes and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Mercedes was always consistently loyal to her family.

As a young child, Mercedes was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. She wasn’t pushy and never forced her way into games or other activities. Mercedes developed a variety of interests, though, and the things she enjoyed doing she did well. She was always curious about the world around her and was often eager to explore it. As a child, Mercedes took part in horse-back riding, swimming, and boating. In her spare time she liked to read books and follower her two older brothers around - she was a little tomboy! However, what Mercedes enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with her many friends.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Mercedes as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from Holy Ghost Catholic School in 1945 after World War II. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite class in high school was Science. Mercedes was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Mercedes always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Mercedes handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Mercedes was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete her class work. She seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down her classmates. Mercedes was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed her fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Mercedes well during her college experience. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Commerce in 1948.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Mercedes was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Mercedes was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Mercedes to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of her best friends were the Velez sisters, Nena Donato Laurel, and Lourdes Samaniego Chuidian.

On September 24, 1949, Mercedes exchanged wedding vows with Santiago Gancayco Jr. at the Malate Catholic Church of Manila, Philppines. She was married to him from september 1949 through december 1958. Later in life, Mercedes met and fell in love with Alfonso Raquel, whom she later married. Compassionate and devoted to her husband, Mercedes held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength and used her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

Mercedes brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Mercedes was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Mercedes had eight children. She had fives sons, Santiago III, Luis, Danilo, Gabriel and Francisco, and three daughters, Cristina, Dolores and Regina. She was blessed with seventeen grandchildren, Omar, Gus, Anna-Mari, Stacie, Stephanie, Alec, Nikolas, Marc, Erik, Kyle, Christian, Melissa, Brenden, Sean, Noah, and Masha. Mercedes was also blessed with three great grandchildren, Sean Gancayco, Madison Kelly, and Evan Gancayco.

Mercedes greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Mercedes enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Mercedes was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was as an Engineering Technician. She was employed for over 20 years at Intel Corp. (one of the first 300 employees of Intel). Mercedes worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Mercedes liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Mercedes always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were reading and traveling. Mercedes was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

Mercedes found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, she could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. She applauded those who won, and she enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find herself wrapped up in those details. She would watch her favorite sporting events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were football (49ers).

Mercedes was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member St. Anthony's Catholic Church for 9 years. She was a sympathetic woman who valued her beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

Mercedes enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Mercedes appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Mercedes always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included Europe and Alaska.

Mercedes was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Mercede's own four dogs, Dum-Dum, Ladie, Sydney and B.J.

When Mercedes’s retirement finally arrived in 1990, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Her new life involved relocating to San Jose, California. In retirement, she found new pleasure in traveling with friends. Even in retirement, Mercedes continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.

Mercedes Chuidian Gancayco Raquel passed away on September 14, 2010 at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California due to heart failure. She is survived by her children Santiago, Luis, Cristina, Danilo, Dolores, Gabriel, Regina and Francisco; and her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Services were held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and Chapel of the Oaks at Oak Hill Funeral Home in San Jose, California. Mercedes was laid to rest in St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Memorial Garden.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Mercedes Chuidian Gancayco Raquel. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.

Arrangements under the direction of Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park, San Jose, CA.