Herminia Gutierrez Punongbayan

She was born in Manila, Philippines on 16 September 1918. At the age of 18 she married Perfecto Punongbayan Sr. She became a mother to 9 children, 22 grandchildren, 34 great grandchildren, and one great- great grandchild.

She was the family matriarch who brought not only the family but the clan together – the Punongbayan-Gutierrez clan as mother to the line of Punongbayan’s who descended from her and as eldest sister in the Gutierrez line. She was a mother figure to the whole clan. She made a difference in the lives of many of them and touched their lives in big or small ways. She was the mother figure to which the clan rallied around. Her unifying role has helped overcome the centrifugal force of misunderstandings and conflicts.

Milk formulas, changing diapers, cuddling babies to sleep were second nature to her. What with nine children of her own -- five girls and four boys. But her mission in life as a mother did not end there as she took on the care of some of her grandchildren as well.

She was widowed at the age of 42. Before that, our father was there to raise the family with her while he was an accountant at B.F. Goodrich Tires, Manila office. But our father died too early. She did not remarry not only because it was frowned upon by society but because she believed that will only divide her time and attention and that the right thing to do was to give 100% of her time to her children. It was during this period as a widow that she displayed her entrepreneurial talents which she inherited from Lola Epang (her own mother). She started a small cafeteria in the public market in Caloocan where she lived then. She sold lanzones (a native fruit in the Philippines) in the market. She would also earn little income by lending money to meat sellers. Later, she opened a boarding house for professionals in Ermita. She was industrious and hardworking and would usually keep late nights and wake up early dawn to earn a living. She may have little financial resources to use in her economic endeavors but she made up for it by her hard work, perseverance and great networking skills.

Her shortened education, because Lola Epang (her mother) believed education was not necessary for women – she finished second year high school at Torres High School in Tondo, did not deter her. She more than made up for it in practical skills in earning a living and providing for her family. She was socially engaged in her neighborhood in Grace Park, where she gave food, or medicines, or advice to the needy in the community. It was not unusual for her to bring a sick child of a neighbor to the hospital and pay for their medications if they could not afford it.

She moved to the United States in the early 1980’s and joined her daughters to realize the “American dream”. She loved to shop, especially when there were sales going on. She would buy all she can and send them to the Philippines in Balikbayan boxes. She lived with Ady and Brigitte in the San Fernando Valley, helped take care of their children but continued to stay connected with her family in the Philippines by making periodic trips to Manila. She last traveled to the Philippines in January 2014 and was able to spend a few weeks with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Her faith in God sustained her throughout her life particularly when a bad fall in her old age confined her to the wheelchair and prevented her from working in the kitchen of the house she shared with Brigitte’s family – the work space she knew for a great part of her life.

Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren will always remember her for the crisp U.S. dollar bills she would send them during Christmas. They will sorely miss her for the Filipino foods she would cook during the holidays or send across the U.S. for them so they can enjoy her home style cooking. She loved all her grandchildren and great grandchildren and she had a special place in her heart for Ron and Aimee because she raised them as her own and for Mario as well. In her later years, she was always happy to see them when they came to visit her at Brigitte’s home. She made sure that there was a lot of food. She refused to take a nap when they were there to visit her. She wanted to be part of the party!

She will always be remembered as a noble mother and a strong and kind-hearted woman who took care of her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and who helped her brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews by always being there for them even into her twilight years and despite being thousands of miles away.