Clemencita Fernan Gonzales

After graduating from the University of Southern Philippines, Tita devoted her life to education. As a schoolteacher, she was remembered as being “both loved and feared by her students”. A fitting description of a woman who was warm and nurturing but also made it clear that she expected everyone to behave. She also served as a swimming coach and proudly held the distinction of being Bogo City’s first band majorette.

In 1956, Tita married Ernesto “Erning” Gonzales Sr., and together they raised their family in Bogo City before moving to General Santos City. In 1991, they relocated to California and settled in Santa Ana, sharing 54 years of love, devotion, family, and cherished memories. After Erning’s passing on June 4, 2010, Tita moved to Florida to live with her children, remaining surrounded by the family she loved dearly.

Tita was a loving and fiercely devoted mother, a proud grandmother and great-grandmother, and a welcoming presence to nearly everyone she met. She had a gift for making people feel at home, sometimes even inviting people she had just met to come and visit. Her home, like her heart, always seemed to have room for one more.

She will be remembered for her humor, sass, motherly nature, and unmistakable feistiness. In Bisaya, the family lovingly remembers her “pagkamaldita”. A spirited quality that made her uniquely Mama. Whenever a situation called for protecting her children or family, she was fearless and formidable. No one ever had to wonder where Tita stood.

Tita loved the color red, shopping, people-watching, and spending time with her family. She also had a lifelong devotion to Coca-Cola and would often choose a Coke over a glass of water, a preference she defended with the same confidence she brought to everything else.

Above all, Tita loved her children dearly. Her strength, generosity, humor, and fierce love shaped the family she raised and will continue to live on through every generation that follows her.

She is survived by her six children: Faith Carmen and her husband, Ernie; Ernesto Jr. “Batchoy” and his wife, Alma; Edgar and his wife, Jerissa; Arcadia Luisa “Girlie”; Vicenta Clemencita “Honey” and her husband, Gil; and Theresa “Leslie” and her husband, Glen. She is also survived by thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ernesto “Erning” Gonzales Sr.; her sons, Jesus and Pedrito; her parents; and her siblings.

Tita lived with strength, loved with all her heart, and brought color, laughter, and a little thunder wherever she went. Her family will forever miss her loving presence, quick wit, feisty spirit, and the special way she made life unmistakably her own.

A visitation will take place at Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home, 601 N Park Ave, Apopka, FL 32712, on August 31, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm with a funeral service to follow at 2:00 pm.