Rosalina C. Sunglao

Rosalina C. Sunglao was born May 18, 1951. She was raised in Lopez, Quezon, Philippines under the watchful eyes of her father, Reynaldo V. Capanzana and mother, Paz C. Raneses. Rosalina is the eldest of eight children. Her brothers are Rodolfo, Ramon, Romeo, Roberto, Raul and Ronald. Her sister is Rosario.

Rosalina was an ambitious student. Upon completing an A.A. degree at Sacred Heart College in Lucena, Philippines she then moved onto completing an A.D.N at Quezon Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in the same city. She completed a B.S.N. at Ortanez University in Manila.

In 1974, after completing her education, Rose found herself on a new life path and immigrated to the United States. She landed a position in Pinellas Park, Florida at the Metropolitan General Hospital and her 30 plus career in nursing began. It is in Florida where she met her husband, Federico N. Sunglao. They were married on Oct. 1, 1975 in St. Petersburg Florida and started to build their lives together as husband and wife and as first generation Filipino Americans.

In their early years together, Fred’s Naval career moved them from Florida to Texas where she worked at the Memorial Medical Center, in Corpus Christi. They then moved to Lewes, Delaware where she was in the medical unit at Beebe Hospital. In Delaware they had their first son, Frederick. With their first child, they came to San Diego in 1979 where they decided to settle and have lived since. It is in San Diego that Rose and Fred had their other three children, son Ferdinand and daughters Rochelle and Rita.

Rose worked in several hospitals in San Diego, some of which include the Physicians and Surgeons Hospital, Hillside Hospital, Southwood Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Paradise Valley Hospital, and Sharp Mesa Vista. In 1987 she began her work for the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital’s Adult Psychiatric Unit. Rosalina realized that she had a particular passion for psychiatric nursing and remained in this field even after her transfer to the San Diego County Central jail in 1998 and until her retirement from the County in 2007. Throughout her career, she showed her dedication to her job through certifications, extensive in-service and continuing education course work.

In the comfort of her Spring Valley home, surrounded by family, Rosalina left peacefully on February 25, 2011. She was unable to fight the cancer in her lung another day. She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Federico; sons Frederick and Ferdinand; and daughters Rochelle and Rita.

Rosalina will be remembered for her vibrant personality. She loved to show her inner playfulness through her clothing, accessories and the care in which she presented herself to the world. Rose loved to dance and share in a good laugh. She was passionate about her career, but never let her passion take away from her enjoyment of the lighter side of life. She was rooted strongly in her Catholic faith, especially through her retirement years and so there will be a Catholic funeral service held at the Santa Sophia Church near her Spring Valley home on March 3, 2011. Rosalina C. Sunglao will be laid to rest at Glen Abbey Memorial Park in Bonita, CA.