Mama Precious was born on October 14, 1934, to Vicente Ampil and Albina Gonzales, in Cainta Rizal, Philippines. She was the third oldest of eight siblings. During WWII, she befriended Japanese soldiers and willingly accepted candy and chocolate from them. They thought she was a precious child and gave her the nickname Precious.
She was an intern at St. Paul’s before she attended Centro Escolar University, where she completed her Bachelor of Education degree as a Library Science major and Physical Education minor.
Upon graduation, she worked as a Doctor’s Assistant at the University of Santo Thomas Hospital and met Ramon S. Zavalla Sr. Amongst many suitors, she married Ramon on June 4, 1957. Precious and Ramon moved to Queens, New York, in 1972. They retired and moved back to the Philippines, in 1996.
Mama Precious was a devout Catholic and prayed for multiple hours a day. She was blessed to make multiple Catholic Pilgrimages to Europe, with the most recent being in 2008. She had many passions, from cooking the best kare-kare in the world to ballroom dancing with Papa.
Mama Precious was preceded in death by husband, Ramon; father, Vicente; mother, Albina; brothers: Antonio, Carling, Eddie, Jun and Froilan. She is survived by sister, Penny; brother, Bobby; children: Ray and wife, Marie; Maricar and husband, Ron; and Richard and wife, Malou; grandchildren: Joanna and husband, Jody; Francis and wife, Kathleen; Russel, Juliene and husband, Jeremy; JJ, Melissa, Ryan and Ashley; and great-grandchildren: Micah, Theo, Penelope and Aissa.
The Zavalla family would like to give a special thanks to the family and friends who took great care of her during the final months of her life.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:00 AM on Monday, July 6, 2020, at St. Faustina Catholic Church, 28102 FM 1093 Fulshear, Texas 77441.
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