Nieva L. Mayo

Nieva Luces Mayo was a kind and generous person who passed away too young. She was a strong person and this strength shone through during her fight with cancer. Even though she was in tremendous pain she always remained strong and never wanted attention focused on her disease. She wanted everyone to continue on with their lives and was more concerned with how they were doing and if they were happy.

Nieva, most commonly known as Eva from friends and family, was born in 1960 in Bulacan, Philippines. Her parents named her Nieva because it translates to snow in Spanish and although it does not snow in the Philippines, the birth of this blessed angel brought delight to her parents similar to the feeling of the first day of snow during the holiday season. Eva was the second eldest of six siblings so her niche of being a Mother came natural as she grew to become a lady.

Raised in the state of lovers, Nieva completed high school in Virginia in 1978. In 1979, Eva met a young sailor, Rick Abad Mayo (Ret.), from her father, Arturo Luces (Ret.), who also served in the United States Navy. It was love at first sight and upon returning from deployment, the young couple married on July 27, 1981. Nieva was blessed with four children who are Maryann, Steve, Rick Junior, and Eric whom together encompass the best of her characteristics.

When Nieva wasn’t spending time with her family, she was a woman of hospitality and demonstrated an exceptional and proactive role in customer services. Employed in a plethora of customer service jobs from retail to food services from 1985-1998, her warm and welcoming smile enabled Eva to succeed in her duties. It was natural for others to find solace in Eva and it was prevalent with all the friendships she has made along the way. Her ideals on service were to ensure everyone was happy and served before her own needs.

On her free time, Eva enjoyed shopping for her children and found delight in showering them with the latest fashion trends and toys. Eva also enjoyed trying new dishes at new restaurants around town. She loved dancing and learning the newest dance steps and was an avid member of Zumba. She attended any concert that contained the Stylistics, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Whitney Houston and any of the likes. It was important for her to get everyone one together for special occasions because she enjoyed the sounds of laughter emulating around the room.

On December 21st 2012, the day of winter solstice, it snowed in the Heavens and Nieva Luces Mayo raised enough strength to be a Mother one last time ensuring her husband and children were all well off to start their winter day. It was at this final moment she uttered, “Goodbye…” and fell onto the arms of our Lord. Our Snow, our Wife, Mother, Friend, and Angel now bring delight in Heaven.