Mrs. Nellie Maliwanag

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt, Nellie Oril Paragas Maliwanag on February 7th, 2023, at the age of 72.

She joins her parents Laureano and Menina, her brothers Jimmy, Robert, Romeo, Renato, and nephew Warren Jason.

She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter Armie (Ron) Recuenco, her son Christopher (Linh) Maliwanag and her grandchildren Isabella, Airon, Liam, Leo and Lily, her siblings Belen (Delfin), Ruben (Celina), Raul (Sharon), Elsa (Jason), Lorna C, Gemolyn, her nieces, nephews, and many friends.

Nellie was born on May 10, 1950 in Bani, Pangasinan, Philippines. On February 17, 1971, she left her family in the Philippines at the early age of 20 to work as a seamstress in Amsterdam, Netherlands along with her sister Belen at Berghaus Sewing Factory. During her term at work, she had the opportunity to travel around Europe with her sister Belen and friends from her Geinwijk group. At the end of her 36 month contract, at the age of 23, Nellie and her sister Belen moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was employed as a seamstress at the Silpit Sewing Factory. She was then able to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Nellie was very ambitious and decided to pursue sales in the life insurance industry. Working as a life insurance agent helped her to purchase her first home on St. Matthews. Soon after, Nellie sponsored her mom and siblings to Winnipeg from the Philippines. Nellie started a family of her own and lived in Winnipeg for 46 years. While her children were little, she worked many years at Boeing. With her entrepreneurial spirit, she retired from Boeing and decided to become self-employed. She joined different home based businesses focused on health. During her time in Winnipeg, she loved spending time with family, taking care of her grandchildren, and going out with her numerous friends. In 2018, she moved to Vancouver to spend time with her son and his family, and helped care for her young grandchildren.

Nellie was a devout believer and read her bible daily. She shared her Christian beliefs with everyone, especially those she cared about and loved. She had a positive attitude and encouraged others to always be optimistic. She was loyal, kind-hearted, caring, humble, thoughtful, resilient, ambitious and hardworking. Most importantly, she put others before herself by lending a helping hand to family, friends, and those in need. She enjoyed helping raise, play with, and take care of her five grandchildren. She loved tending to her garden, traveling, and spending time with her family, relatives, and friends in Winnipeg and Vancouver. She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, family, and friends in Winnipeg, Vancouver and the Philippines.

The Paragas and Maliwanag family would like to thank everyone for their prayers, love and support. Also, her children would like to thank staff at Vancouver General Hospital, Nurse Next Door, Vancouver Coastal Home Health, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and to all of her siblings and relatives who visited and assisted with her care.

“Matthew 25:21 KJV Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Nellie’s Visitation will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park located at 3789 Royal Oak Ave, Burnaby, BC on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm.

The Celebration of life will be held Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm. Reception to follow at 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm.

Please wear light colours or floral print in celebration of Nellie’s life.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared below for the Maliwanag family.