Mona Lisa Aspiras

Mona Lisa Banzon Aspiras, who was of Filipina heritage, was born and raised in Rome, Italy. Thanks to a rich, multicultural upbringing in the Eternal City, Mona Lisa was multilingual (English mother tongue, fluent Italian, French, basic Spanish and Filipino) and attended international schools in Rome for both elementary and high school (St. Francis International School and Marymount International School, respectively). Her father is a retired economist from the Rome based Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and her mother is a retired Philippine government official and artist.

As an artist and writer, Mona Lisa’s art education was a mixture of self-taught and semi-formal study. After taking private courses with Ms. Francesca di Stefano, a recognized Italian watercolorist in the Realist style, she continued her art education at the Academia di Belle Arti di Roma (Academy of Fine Arts of Rome) specializing in figure drawing, etching and engraving, ultimately earning a Fine Arts certificate in 1995. At the same time, she independently experimented with watercolor, acrylic, and pastel painting. In Rome, Mona Lisa showcased her paintings together with her mother in exhibitions at the FAO in 1995.

In 1996, Mona Lisa transferred to Virginia Beach, Virginia where she took several art electives and Computer Graphics at Virginia Wesleyan College and Tidewater Community College, completing a B.A. degree in interdivisional Studies/Psychology from Virginia Wesleyan College, a diploma in Computer Programming from ECPI University, and an associate’s degree in IT/Internet Specialist from Tidewater Community College. In Virginia Beach, Lisa continued painting and successfully exhibited her artwork in art shows at local events taking place at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Harrison Opera House and MacArthur Museum. More recently, Lisa cultivated her interests and talents in creative writing, poetry and digital technologies. She skillfully blended her earlier passion for the visual arts with innovative forays into digital art work, literary pursuits and multimedia, resulting in new creations that included self-publication of her artwork, poetry, essays and reflective writing.

Lisa was a loving, compassionate and generous person who empathized with the suffering and the less fortunate, donating blood to the Red Cross and giving to charities such as Hope House in Norfolk. She was especially drawn to animals where she derived much comfort and solace in caring for her pets and observing the birds in her neighborhood. An active member of St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church, she was also a member of the Legion of Mary and sang in the Church choir in past years. Lisa is much loved and missed by her family, relatives and friends and is survived by her parents Marcelo and Resurreccion Aspiras (nee Banzon); siblings Cynthia (Joseph) Kandra, Christine (Alexander) Krusemeyer and Marcelo Aspiras Jr.; nephew Alex Kandra and nieces Christiana (Ethan) Kunofsky and Anais Krusemeyer.

The funeral Mass will be held on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 at 10am at St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church in Virginia Beach with the wake and visitation an hour prior.