Bienvenida Borromeo Hickel

She was born on October 29, 1934 in Bislig, Tanauan, Leyte, Philippines, the daughter of Catalino Loreto Borromeo and Asuncion Pica Borromeo. She had four brothers she will join in heaven: Porferio Gallaron, Manuel Borromeo, Aurelio Borromeo, Teodoro Borromeo and her surviving sister Isidora Borromeo Encarnacion, of Tacloban City, Philippines.

Bening left Leyte at a young age, after the liberation of her home island after World War II. She spent her young adult life in Manila with family, and later gained employment at Sangley and Cubi Point Naval Air Stations, a time she remembered fondly.

She was resourceful, without much formal education, and was proud of her graduation from Eastern School of Dressmaking and Hair Science in Tacloban City, Leyte in 1962. She loved to say she was a beauty operator and would always tell her hairdressers this!

Bening met her husband, Eldon Joseph Hickel on a beach while stationed by the Navy in Subic Bay, and they married on August 6, 1968 in Cavite, Philippines. A year later her daughter, Ellen Marie Hickel (O’Berry) was born. The family moved to California in October of 1969, later bought a home in Milpitas, and shortly thereafter the family expanded again with the birth of their son, Richard Lee Hickel.

After Eldon retired from the Navy, the family spent a few years in Bandar Abbas, Iran, where she was a homemaker and he an aircraft mechanic/trainer for the Iranian military (prior to political turbulence). She was industrious, and even ran a restaurant from the home! After this, the family visited Europe for a summer, and returned home to the US. She used her beauty operator skills, became a Mary Kay Consultant for a time, and held various jobs as an electronics assembler/inspector before the Silicon Valley boom.

Her children grew up, she divorced, and was left to her own pursuits. She was an avid traveler, and ventured around the world! She made numerous trips back to the Philippines, embarked on a European tour, and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, including Jerusalem, Lourdes and the Vatican where she was in the audience of the Pope. She was a reverent and devout Catholic, and in later years became a Minister of Communion for our Lady of Fatima parish in Modesto.

Her greatest pride and joy was her role as Nana to her four grandchildren. She was a tremendous influence in their childhood, from babysitting, sleepovers, going to church, numerous family trips to Disneyland and other fun events! Even when they moved to Idaho, Nana was sure to visit for weeks at a time; she spoiled them with her joy of cooking, playing mahjong, and the many prayers she shared for them.

Bening lived a full life in her 88 years, devout in her faith, and strong in her will. Her life was filled with challenges and struggles, but she was a fighter and a survivor, living her days on her terms. She now has eternal peace, leaving behind all her worries from this life.

Bening is survived by daughter Ellen, (husband Thomas O’Berry), son Richard Hickel, and her four grandchildren, Christopher, Kayla, (husband Tucker Craig), and twins Meghann & Marissa O’Berry, who will miss her dearly.