Saturnina Doria Cerezo

Born: Linoc, Binmaley, Pangasinan, Philippines

Passed away: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America

A beloved wife, mom, and grandma, as well as sister, auntie, cousin, ninang, and dear friend.

Saturnina Doria Cerezo, a wonderful and remarkable woman with an amazing and loving heart, passed away during the early morning of July 26, 2023, surrounded by her family, including her husband Vincula Vera Cerezo of 64 years of marriage, at her bedside in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Her family feels incredibly blessed and privileged to have had a loving and supportive relationship with a dearest and caring wife, mom, and grandma.

Saturnina was born into and grew up in a large family in Linoc, Binmaley, Pangasinan, Philippines; family members include her parents Manuel Bautista Doria and Maxima Cayabyab Doria (both deceased); sister Nieves Doria (Cerezo); baby sister Maria Norma Cayabyab Doria (deceased); brother Leonardo Cayabyab Doria; brother Pablo Cayabyab Doria (deceased); sister Narcisa Doria (Terrado); sister Agustina Doria (Villanueva) (deceased); brother Samuel Cayabyab Doria; and sister Manuela Doria (DeVera). While growing up, she enjoyed going to her relatives’ homes, church, Lingayen Beach, town fiestas, and the many fish ponds. Her siblings currently live in the Philippines, except for Nieves, who lives in Arizona, USA.

Known for her inner and outer beauty as well as for being keen, Saturnina was courted by a neighbor known since childhood-turned-U.S. Navy enlistee from the same barangay/barrio of Linoc. The gentleman’s name was Vincula Vera Cerezo, and his mahal was Saturnina. Having common values and mutual admiration for one another, the pair fell in love and were later married on September 8, 1958 in the Roman Catholic Church of Binmaley, Pangasinan.

Over a span of 64 years of marital bliss and living in a variety of places before and after Vincula became a U.S. Navy retired veteran, the couple’s life was filled with experiences, memorable occasions, and priorities. The two of them – especially Saturnina – would repeatedly show by words and actions that family, faith, and Filipino culture were extremely important to them.

A homemaker, a supportive military wife and mom, an assembler of semiconductor chips for Dyna-Craft and National Semiconductor in the Silicon Valley area of Northern California, and a retiree, Saturnina was known to share with others that her greatest achievement in this life was her family – a loving husband, a total of six (6) children, and thirteen (13) grandchildren – all of whom brought joy, light, and smiles to her long life.

The couple’s first child and grandchildren: Christopher Doria Cerezo (a U.S. Navy retired veteran) and wife Nancy Cerezo of Virginia; Ashley Cerezo of Virginia; and Christian Vin Cerezo of California

The couple’s second child and grandchildren: Mary Ann Cerezo Balaoro and husband Marcel Balaoro (a U.S. Air Force retired veteran) of Nevada; Luke Balaoro of New Mexico; and Leanna Balaoro of Texas

The couple’s third child and grandchildren: Richard Doria Cerezo and wife Liberty Cerezo of California; Leah Cerezo Cho and husband Ben Cho, and Noah Cerezo, all of California

The couple’s fourth child and grandchildren: Michael Doria Cerezo (a U.S. Army retired veteran) and wife Diana Cerezo of California; Gabriella Cerezo-Keller and husband Lucas Keller; and Brandon Cerezo, all of California

The couple’s fifth child and grandchildren: Mark Doria Cerezo (a U.S. Navy retired veteran) and wife Alanie Cerezo of California; Marcie Lynn Cerezo; Daniel Cerezo* and wife Cally Cerezo*, and Mathias Cerezo, all of California *The couple are helping to defend America’s freedom as officers in the U.S. Marine Corps; Daniel’s a pilot

The couple’s sixth child and grandchildren: Joan Cerezo Rueben and husband Steven Rueben of Nevada; Scott Rueben; and Sean Rueben, both of Nevada

Those who loved and/or admired Saturnina knew of: her deep faith, love of praying the rosary, and gratefulness to God for life’s blessings; her selfless, positive, and good-natured character and fun personality; her pure loveliness and radiance; her love for her cherished family members in the USA and in the Philippines, as well as for the families of her children’s in-laws and her treasured friends in the USA over the decades, especially those from Christ the King (CTK) Catholic Church in Las Vegas, Nevada; her volunteering at CTK to ensure parishioners would get friendly service and a smiling face along with their doughnut of choice after a Sunday mass; her encouraging others to deepen their faith; her supporting others to do and be their best in any undertaking, endeavor, etc.; her sayings “enjoy life,” “you’re number one,” and “that’s a good one”; her having fun with the love of her life gallivanting around town going to places such as The Orleans, and traveling out of the state or internationally for cruising or land-based vacations; her joy when babysitting her grandchildren and watching them grow up; how she enjoyed talking on the phone with or visiting with her loved ones, especially her close cousins and dear friends who are practically family members themselves; her welcoming and hospitable nature when opening her home to relatives, so they could live with the family or simply come over for sleepovers and enjoy her and her husband’s cooking (especially at the family’s home in Santa Clara, California); her pleasure in hosting family parties and social gatherings when family members of all ages looked forward to playing bingo; her Filipino cooking made with love (e.g., her leche flan and bibingkang latik were always requested by her youngest child she affectionately called “neneng”); how she would look forward to getting together with her CTK barkada to eat, converse, and play cards; her appreciation of the natural beauty of flowers, especially those on display at the Bellagio Hotel; how she had a good time at her youngest daughter’s various tea parties over the decade and years in Las Vegas; her enjoyment of listening to music (e.g., from singers such as Paul Anka and Elvis) as well as singing whether by karaoke or not (e.g., Doris Day’s “If I Give My Heart to You” and classic Filipino love songs); and her pleasure from dancing (e.g., Cha Cha, Macarena, etc.).

Beloved wife, mom, and grandma, as well as sister, auntie, cousin, ninang, and dear friend – Saturnina – your essence and legacy of beauty, making your relationships with family and friends a priority, and enjoying the time with and company of your loved ones will always be in our hearts. You were a powerful, impactful, and special woman whose love, sweetness, and generosity truly enriched everyone around you. You’ll be sorely missed for the rest of our lives.

A message from Joanie (my mom would sweetly call me Joanie or neneng): On behalf of my entire family, thank you for the love, support, and prayers during this difficult time. My family mourns a wonderful and remarkable woman with an amazing and loving heart, who’ll never be forgotten.

A message from the family:

Due to a number of various factors, the dates and times were the best the family could do or else they had to wait until the end of August for services.

Only in the event you were thinking about sending flowers, etc., please consider instead donating life-saving blood at your local blood bank or making a donation to the American Cancer Society in honor of Saturnina Doria Cerezo.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmsouthwest.com for the Cerezo family.