Perla Villamor Calima

Perla Villamor Calima peacefully passed away on Tuesday afternoon, August 26, 2025 in Houston, Texas, United States at the age of 79. After battling her existing primary thyroid cancer and then her newly discovered metastatic bone cancer in her T4 vertebra spine bone, she unexpectedly developed severe aspiration and bacterial pneumonia that continuously damaged both her lungs caused from the after effects of targeted radiation treatments that secondarily affected her esophagus. After 41 long days at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Perla took her last breath in this world without any pain while she was lovingly surrounded by her two children, Mark Calima and Rachel Calima, plus close family friends.

Born on August 17, 1946 in the Philippines, Perla was already a force to be reckoned with. As the child of a World War II US Army Major, 32nd Degree Mason, Shriner, Chief of Police, and multi-business owner named Francisco Villamor and a professional seamstress and business owner named Emilia Ferrer, Perla was raised with great family values, women empowering strength, and unlimited potential. While growing up with her brother, Dr. Reynaldo Livelo, and her sister, Aurora Livelo Labrador, she lived a happy life full of love and support. She had many friends and relatives who also loved her.

Perla always envisioned a better life for herself in the United States. To achieve her dreams, she studied at the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) in Manila, Philippines to become a nurse and joined a nursing program that partnered with the United States. Little did she know that on January 31, 1970, during her sister’s wedding, a lovable wedding crasher and free food enthusiast named Bert Calima would change her life forever. Once Bert laid eyes on Perla from afar, he was head over heels, madly in love with her. Even when she showed great disinterest in him at first, he never stopped showing and proving how much he loved her. Perla graduated from PWU in March 1970 and her future was set. After working as a nurse for a little while in the Philippines, she finally flew to the United States at the young age of 23 with only two suitcases and $800 in her purse, but sadly left Bert behind. She pursued her American Dream nursing career in Missouri, then New York City / New Jersey, and then Virginia to be with her sister and mother. While separated by an entire ocean for three years, Bert wrote meaningful love letters to Perla every single day. When he earned enough money, he would make long-distance phone calls or send social telegrams to her overseas. He always made sure she knew his love for her was forever, strong, and true. They finally married each other on June 19, 1976 at the Hilton Hotel in Manila. After the wedding, they were separated from each other again for another 6 months. In 1977, Perla petitioned for Bert’s US Green Card and brought him to the United States to start their new lives together as one. In September 1979, their first child, Mark, was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Mark developed severe skin rashes from the cold weather. A doctor highly recommended that the family move to a warmer climate to help resolve his skin condition. While on their long road trip move to California, they stopped in Houston to visit relatives and friends. They ended up never leaving and Houston became their forever home. Perla quickly found a Registered Nurse job at The Heights Hospital and then soon relocated to Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center Hospital. A few years later, in December 1985, their second child, Rachel, was born in Houston and the family of four was complete. At VA Medical Center, she completed 28 straight years of service helping US Veterans while working in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Room, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and Psychiatry Unit. After almost 40 years of being a Registered Nurse, she finally retired from her nursing career in 2008 at the age of 61.

During her long, well-deserved retirement, Perla and Bert traveled the world to places all throughout Asia, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. They also gambled at casinos in almost every place they visited. They lived a very happy life together until Bert unexpectedly suffered a massive stroke and passed away on April 21, 2021, right before their 45th wedding anniversary. After Bert’s death, Perla heavily relied on her two children and many of her good friends to help her keep going. She continued to travel the world with family and friends including her last international trip to South America in March to April 2025. She enjoyed playing word search games and the Solitaire card game while in her bed, watching funny Facebook Reels, talking on the phone for hours with friends and relatives, plus spending time with her two children and her best dog friend, Chai Chai.

Throughout her entire life, she loved the finer things in life such as owning top designer purses, fashionable designer shoes, beautiful diamond jewelries, luxury Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and eating at high-end steak houses. On top of buying whatever she wanted for herself, she also helped many people in various ways. She helped family members come to the United States by giving them a place to live, feeding them, buying clothes to wear, and offering short-term financial assistance until each person was stable. She had a big heart with endless love to help people whenever needed, including always giving cash to homeless veterans on the side of the road.

Perla’s greatest passions in life included being inseparable for over 50 years from her wonderful, hilarious husband, Bert, loving her two children, Mark and Rachel, traveling around the world with family and friends, and gambling on slot machines at many casinos and cruise ships. She was truly the best mother who provided her children with everything they ever needed and wanted. She always prioritized her family first. She lived a full life she was extremely proud of and was always strong enough to fight for whatever she wanted. She lived life on her own terms until the day she died and she would not have wanted it any other way.